


Fool Me Once, Fool Me Twice

by TheDeadMasquerade



Category: The Vampire Diaries
Genre: Angst, F/M, Family Drama, au season 3 mostly, friend drama, relationship drama, season 4 with a twist, slight AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-05
Updated: 2014-07-13
Packaged: 2017-11-11 12:46:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 35
Words: 195,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/478693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDeadMasquerade/pseuds/TheDeadMasquerade
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bonnie has been having dreams of a strange man who tells her he can help her and everyone is surprised when they finally discover who he is. Though getting his help will not be easy, there is one way...Bonnie has to make him fall for her. Bonnie&Kol</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 1. Stranger

_Bonnie found herself walking through a familiar scene, one she had seen many times in her dreams; it was the place where all the witches in her family had been buried. She continued to walk through the scattered head stones of the buried witches and the light fog that covered the ground and once again came across the coffin that had been spelled shut._

_The witch tried her luck at opening it but of course it didn't budge. Bonnie tossed a quick look around, wondering if Klaus would be here like he always was and she paused at the sound of footsteps behind her, the sound of leaves crunching under the pressure of the person's shoes. Slowly, she turned around and expected to see Klaus like she had so many times before but she was wrong. She didn't know who the man was; she had never seen him before in her life._

" _Who are you?" She demanded to the unknown male._

_He never replied to her, he only smiled and she let out a gasp of surprise when he used vampire speed to be right in front of her in under a second. While he was close to her, she managed to get a better look at him. He was very attractive. He had to be between five eleven and six feet tall and had hair that was slightly spiked at the front and was a type of ashy brown colour. His eyes were a gorgeous brown colour and he was wearing an old style suit._

" _I can help you," he whispered to her and brought his hand up to cup her cheek. Bonnie closed her eyes and leant into his hand. She opened her eyes when she felt the hand leave her face and she froze in shock. The man had disappeared and now Klaus stood in front of her._

" _Figured it out yet?" he asked with his signature smirk on his face. Bonnie felt the fear well up in her stomach when veins started to appear around his darkening eyes and his fangs started to descend. She let out a high pitched shriek as Klaus' fangs pierced the skin on her neck._

Bonnie screamed as she shot up in her bed, panting and covered in sweat, she looked over to her clock on the table next to her bed and fell back onto the comfy mattress with a heavy sigh. These dreams had to stop.

* * *

Klaus and Elijah stood in front of the four coffins. One of the four was empty and the others contained their three remaining siblings, Rebekah, Kol and Finn. Klaus had managed to convince his elder brother, Elijah, to keep Rebekah in her coffin. He couldn't have Rebekah telling them all of his lies, so he had convinced Elijah that Rebekah would be safer in the coffin then out and about.

Both Original brothers went and opened two of the coffins, Elijah opening Finn's and Klaus opening Kol's, and with a mental count to three, they both pulled the daggers out of their brothers. They placed the daggers on the nearby desk and placed a fresh blood bag in each coffin for when they woke.

All that was left to do now was wait, and hope everything worked out.

* * *

It had been quite a long time before he had spoken to his two brothers and he would be lying if he said he were not nervous about them returning and if he wasn't already nervous enough, it was not helping that Elijah was sitting across from him and staring at him. Klaus was not naïve enough to not consider Elijah to be a threat to him, which is the reason he put the dagger in him in the first place. If there was anyone in this world that could defeat him, it was the vampire seated across from him looking ready to attack at any given moment.

The sounds of a sharp intake of breath and panting are what broke the two brothers out of their staring competition, and shortly after another intake of breath was heard.

They were now both awake, and they weren't very pleased.

* * *

"Stefan! Damon!" Bonnie called out as she walked into the boarding house. Stefan had texted her earlier and told her he needed her help with a plan he had come up with.

"Judgey," Damon greeted her as he walked into the room, "Stefan's in the study," he told her. Bonnie nodded and began to make her way to the study.

Bonnie knocked once on the partially open door as a warning before entering. "What's the plan?" she asked. Since Stefan had returned from his rendezvous with Klaus and he began working with her, she had dropped the pleasantries with him. He wasn't the same Stefan she used to know. The only common goal they had was to take down the Originals.

"I need you to do a spell for me," he said, not looking up from the book he was flicking through.

Typical, she thought to herself and rolled her eyes a little. "What for?"

"I need to know what Klaus is planning, and the only way I can do that is to watch over him but he'll probably sense me hanging around," he started and threw the book onto the table, landing with a loud 'thud'. "That is where you come in," he said and got up from his chair, "I need you to do a spell that will make me invisible to the Originals."

Bonnie thought for a moment, then nodded her head in agreement. "Okay, I think I'll be able to come up with something. I'm sure there is a spell for that in one of the grimoires I have."

"Let me know what you find!" Stefan called out as she left the room.

She made her way to the front door but was stopped by Damon, "Elena told me about your dream," he said. "She said you dreamt of Klaus and another guy? You don't know who the other is?"

Bonnie shook her head, "I've been thinking about it all day, I'm sure that I've never met him...but he did look a little familiar. Like he could be related to someone I've met," she said to Damon.

A knock on the door broke them out of their conversation. As Damon opened the door Bonnie's eyes widened in shock when she saw Elijah standing there, she thought he was still in one of the coffins. "When you warned me about Klaus' plan I hid the fourth coffin but I also had time to take the dagger out of Elijah," Damon explained to Bonnie as Elijah walked through the door. "Speaking of the coffin, do you know what is inside it?" he questioned Elijah.

"I do," he replied, "But I think I'm going to let you find that one out on your own," he said. "Now, the real reason I am here. I understand you were the one that took the dagger out of me, yes?" he looked to Damon, who nodded with narrowed eyes, "so I am here to give you all a bit of a…warning. Klaus and I have taken the daggers out of our brothers."

"What about Rebekah?" Bonnie asked.

"Klaus has left the dagger in Rebekah, he believes she is safer in the coffin," he explained to them.

Damon smirked while Bonnie scoffed, "Of course he does," she mumbled. Both Damon and Bonnie knew the real reason why Klaus has kept Rebekah neutralised, and it was not to keep her safe.

It was nice to know that they still had leverage over Klaus, with the locked coffin and now the knowledge of know that Elijah and his siblings are unaware of Klaus murdering their mother.

* * *

It had been three days since Klaus and Elijah had taken the daggers out of their brothers and things had been running smoother then Klaus had expected. Finn had taken some anger out on him by thrusting a large wooden stake threw his heart and throwing him off the stairs of the mansion, sending him flying to the hard marble floor below. It even cracked his skull a little.

Kol however, went about his anger in a very different way. He had threatened that if Klaus pulled that stunt again that he would make sure the life of the Doppelganger would come to an end, and that had Klaus a little worried. It wasn't so much Elena that he cared about, he didn't a give a damn about her if he were honest. In fact, sometimes he found himself wishing that he could have been blessed with a Doppelganger that he actually found interesting. At least Katerina had a bit of personality, Elena was more boring than anything he had come across in his one thousand years of existence. But her blood was important to him, without that he could no longer create hybrids. So unfortunately, the Doppelganger had to remain safe.

Kol had always been very calculating; he would rather threaten someone or something rather then get his hands dirty. He was the type of vampire that would compel you to kill yourself rather than kill you himself. Kol would never really show you just how evil he could be, he'd done some things in the past that would make the devil cringe, but that was early on in their vampirism, all of them had gone through that. It was one of the unforeseen consequences.

Over the last three days, Klaus had gathered some of his hybrids to help Finn and Kol adjust to the modern world, helping them with all the gadgets and changed culture and it didn't take long for the two of them to pick it all up. His brothers were not stupid after all.

It also did not take long for one of them to bring up the question he had very much been dreading, why had he not taken the dagger out of Rebekah. Klaus tried his best to explain that he had taken the dagger out of their sister but the Doppelganger had managed to stab her with it a couple of weeks ago and that it would be much better for her to be safe in her coffin. Klaus could tell that neither brother was happy with the explanation, but they let it go. For now.


	2. This Is Just Perfect

_Bonnie smiled as a hand slid across her naked back, then a pair of warm lips soon followed the same path. She sighed when the hands moved her hair away from her neck and began to place hot,[open](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/2/Fool_Me_One_Fool_Me_Twice) mouth kisses up her neck and right up to her ear. He took the lobe into his mouth and sucked gently at the soft flesh. She let out giggle when he started to playfully bite her ear._

" _I can help you," he whispered huskily into her ear. Bonnie's breath quickened when she felt his hand slide up her inner thigh. "You can trust me," he said._

_She rolled over and looked up at the man leaning over her. He had a heart melting smile on his face and his eyes filled with lust. Bonnie brought her hands to his face and pulled him down to her, their lips meeting in a[passionate](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/2/Fool_Me_One_Fool_Me_Twice), lust filled kiss. The still unknown man bit her lip lightly and took advantage of her gasp as he slid tongue into her mouth, exploring every inch. Bonnie let out a low moan when their tongues touched. He tasted amazing; she'd never experienced anything quite like it in her life._

_All too soon, she had to pull away to breathe, but he left her lips only to trail his own across her jaw and down her neck causing her to release another moan._

_Then, everything changed. The gently caresses and pleasurable kisses disappeared and were replaced by cold, hard touches and painful bites to the neck making Bonnie flinch._

_She opened her eyes to find the man had once again vanished and Klaus was[now](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/2/Fool_Me_One_Fool_Me_Twice) in his place. He looked up at her and smirked before plunging his fangs into her neck, forcing her to let out a loud scream._

Bonnie's eyes shot open. Her hand instantly went to her neck to feel for bites or blood, but it was all clear. She let out a deep breath and tried to calm herself down. These were not the types of dreams she wanted to have.

* * *

"You had the same dream again last night?" Elena asked her friend as they walked through the doors of the high school.

"Exactly the same," Bonnie confirmed. "Started at the burial ground and ended with Klaus trying to gnaw my neck off."

Okay, so maybe not the exact same dream…but they didn't need to know the dirty details of her dream.

"Same guy?" Elena questioned when they reached their lockers.

Bonnie nodded her head, "same unknown, yet strangely familiar looking guy," she sighed and unlocked her locker. Bonnie hesitated before telling Elena of her little theory, "I'm probably way off here but what if he is one of Klaus' brothers?"

Elena raised an eyebrow, "what makes you think that?"

"When he disappears in my dreams, Klaus is always there, the exact same place where the other guy was, like he changed into Klaus. But like I said I'm probably way off," Bonnie brushed off her theory and pulled her books out of her locker.

"Well Damon did say that Elijah and Klaus took the daggers out of their brothers so maybe," Elena replied with a small shrug.

"Speaking of Damon, what's going on there?" Bonnie questioned her friend with playfully narrowed eyes.

"Nothing, I've been avoiding him actually," she confessed, "I just feel so guilty about the kiss. I still love Stefan it's just…"

"You love Damon too," Bonnie finished and Elena looked at her with a guilty expression on her face and nodded her head slowly. "These Salvatore brothers, they're going to be the death of you," she joked.

Elena's lips curved upwards a little, "Don't I know it," she said with a frustrated groan and leant her head back against the metal lockers.

"Do you want to come by later?" Elena asked as they started to walk to class, "I could use some company at home what with Jeremy gone and all."

"Yeah sure, I just got to head to Stefan's after school and do that spell for him. I'll head over right after," she replied.

"What spell?"

"Stefan wants me to cast some kind of invisibility spell so he can spy on Klaus," she explained and Elena made an O shape with her mouth, making Bonnie frown a little. "You're okay with me working with Stefan aren't you?"

"Yeah, sure, why wouldn't I be?" Bonnie wasn't exactly convinced by her friends answer but dropped the topic of Stefan nonetheless.

"Speaking of Jeremy, how's he doing in Denver?"

"He's doing well," she said then paused before speaking again, "Look, I know you don't agree with what I did but…"

"I understand why you did it Elena; I just wish you didn't. Jeremy is old enough to make his own decisions, and I don't like that you took that away from him," Bonnie replied honestly.

"I don't want this life for him, Bonnie. I want him to have a safe life."

"He's a Gilbert, Elena. He would have gotten involved with it all eventually. It's his heritage."

"He's the only family I have left, Bonnie, I'm not going to lose him too," Elena said firmly.

"Well when he finds out what you did, and he will, you will lose him," Bonnie replied and walked away from her stunned friend.

What she said might have been harsh, but it was the truth. Bonnie knew how hurt Jeremy was when he found out Elena had Damon compel him the first time and if he finds out she's done it again, he'll never forgive her. Elena needs to know that she can't control everyone; they can make their own decisions.

* * *

Stefan was seated on a chair while Bonnie stood behind him with her hands hovering over his temples. There was a circle of candles lit around the two.

"How does this spell work?" Damon asked, watching the two.

"It'll alter the perception of Klaus and the other Originals. They won't be able to see or hear or sense Stefan, even if he were right in front of them," she explained the spell, her eyes still closed as she concentrated and began to chant.

The flames of the candle flickered a bit then became larger. The fire of the candles went back to their usual size once Bonnie had finished the spell.

"How do I know if it worked?" Stefan questioned the witch and stood up.

"Well if it works, you'll come back alive and if not…well…you'll be dead," Bonnie replied with a snarky tone and a sweet smile.

"Only one way to find out, brother," Damon smirked, "go play 007," he said and motioned to the door.

Stefan growled lowly as he walked passed his brother and the witch, wondering when the two became friends.

"Do you think it worked?" Damon asked Bonnie once Stefan had left.

"We'll soon find out," she replied and packed up her supplies.

Just as the witch was about to leave, Damon stopped her, "can I ask you something?"

Bonnie turned to look at him, he looked somewhat nervous. "Sure."

"It's about Elena," he stated.

"Oh, no, I do not want to get in the middle of this," she whined.

"I just want your opinion on something," Bonnie had never seen Damon like this before. Given they had never had these kind of moments but over the last few months they have gotten to be what could be classified as frenimes. He looked nervous and vulnerable.

Bonnie sighed, giving in. "Okay, what is it?"

"I'm asking you this because you're her best friend, you know her better than anyone," he started. She wasn't too sure if she liked where this was going. "You know I love her."

"I do," she replied softly. "And I think I know what you are trying to get at," she could tell this wasn't easy on him so she saved him from having to say it out loud. "I'm saying this as her best friend, not as a witch and I am going to be brutally honest," she clarified before continuing, "Elena does feel something for you, Damon, but in the end it's always going to be Stefan for her. You and Elena could have a good relationship but it won't last because Elena will always love Stefan no matter what and you will be the one that ends up hurt. Again." She felt horrible for telling him this, but she meant every word of it. Elena would drop Damon in a second if Stefan came back to her and that would not be fair on Damon. "I'm really sorry, Damon."

"Don't be. I've already thought about everything you said," he replied with a bitter laugh.

The young witch walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him in a friendly, comforting hug. He looked like needed one. "Thanks for being honest," he said and brought his arms around her.

"Anytime," she replied with a smile and pulled away.

"Are we friends now?" Damon questioned.

"Hell no," she replied, still smiling.

"Thank god," he feigned relief making Bonnie laugh.

"Let me know how Stefan goes," she requested and with a final wave she left the boarding house.

* * *

Bonnie parked her car in the driveway to her house, gathered up her things and made her way to the front door with her keys in hand.

"Evening, Miss Bennett," a voice sounded from behind her causing her to drop her belongings on the ground.

She whipped around and came face to face with Klaus.

"Klaus," she seethed with hate. "What do you want?"

"Do I need a reason to visit my favourite witch?" he asked and Bonnie raised an eyebrow.

"What do you want?" she asked again, folding her arms over her chest.

"Been doing some magic have we, love?" He asked, ignoring her question and motioning to her grimoire lying on the grass.

"Mmhm, you see we have a pest problem in Mystic Falls. A bunch of hybrids running around and their psychotic leader," she replied to him, standing her ground.

It wasn't till she looked away from him that she noticed the man standing next to Klaus and her breath hitched.

"I believe introductions are in order, Bonnie this is my brother, Kol," he introduced. "Now, may we come in? I believe we have much to discuss."

Bonnie didn't answer him, she was shocked that the man that had been appearing in her dreams now stood, in the flesh, directly in front of her and to top it off, he was one of Klaus' brothers. That is just perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah…I lied when I said it would be longer…and have more Kol. Next one definitely will, I just thought here would be a good place to leave it. I feel the need to add that there will be no Bamon in this story, but their 'friendship' will play a big part. I feel the conversation they had is one that Bonnie would have with Damon so that's why I added it, and also to help them bond. Thanks for the reviews so far! I hope you liked this one!
> 
> Up Next: More Bonnie/Kol/Klaus action & Stefan watches over the Originals.


	3. You Want Me To What?

Bonnie stared at the man whose name she learnt was Kol and had to push the memories of her dream away. He looked pretty much the same as he did in her dreams but dressed a little more modern in a pair of black jeans, a white shirt, tight fitting shirt and leather jacket. It looked good on him, really good.

She quickly composed herself and turned to Klaus, "if you want to talk then you can talk out here. There is no way in hell I'm going to invite you into my home." She glared at the hybrid. If he really thought she was going to invite him into her house then he was even dumber then she thought.

"Can't blame a vampire for trying," he replied with a charming smile, making Bonnie roll her eyes.

"What do you want, Klaus?" she all but growled, she was growing tired of his presence.

"Oh, I just love it when you say my name, sweetheart," he said with a seductive tone and took a step towards her.

His comment pushed her patients to the limits, and she raised her hand and sent him flying across her front lawn. But that wasn't enough for her, she summoned as much of her powers as she could and gave him an aneurism, making him drop back down to his knee's holding his head in pain. It wasn't as easy for her to do this to Klaus as it was when she did it to Stefan or Damon, she could feel her energy draining.

She stopped using her magic when the familiar feeling began to well up, if she didn't stop soon she'd end up with a nosebleed and/or passing out. Not something she wanted to do around two Original, especially not Klaus.

Klaus got back up to his feet a little slower then he though, although it wasn't as painful as when the dead witches did it, but the little witch packed quite a punch.

"I'm going to give you  **one**  more chance, Klaus," she spat his name out with pure hate, "before I start lighting your body parts on fire. What do you want?" She was really beginning to think that he was here to purely annoy her.

"You're no fun," he pouted, "fine then, have it your way; I want to arrange a meeting. There are a few things that need to be settled."

"When?" she asked and folded her arms across her chest.

"Tomorrow, noon at the Grill, don't be late," he replied and she nodded. "Well then, I guess my brother and I will be off then."

"Some good news at last," she chipped.

"You should work on your people skills there, darling, you're not very good at making a person feel welcome," he said to her and bent down to pick up her grimoire from the ground and handed it to her.

"You're not a person, Klaus," she replied and snatched it from his hands and began to walk to her front door without so much of a good bye.

"How rude," Klaus mumbled when the witch slammed the front door shut.

* * *

Kol had been replaying the scene that played out earlier; he had been completely enthralled by the young witch who refused to back down to his older brother. It was when she threatened to light Klaus on fire that he decided that he had to have her. He wanted to talk to her, get to know her but that had proved to be near impossible as his brother had kept all her attention on him. God, what could have happened if Klaus weren't there, the things he would do (or at least try to do), the list was endless. He just hopes for her sake that no one tries to get in his way. That beautiful green-eyed witch was now (unofficially) his.

He had hid himself away in his room, laying on the bed and staring up at the ceiling. He was very tempted to find his way back to her house to settle the building up curiosity about the younger girl. He had so many questions that he wanted to be answered.

A tapping on the door brought him out of his thoughts; Kol lifted his head up from the pillow and watched as Elijah walked into the room.

"Elijah," he acknowledged and placed his head back on the pillow.

"How are you settling?" Elijah questioned and took a seat on the chair that was placed in the corner of the room.

"Fine," he replied. Kol had found it quite easy to adjust to the changes of the world, it had been strange at first but he got used to it rather quickly. Perks of being an thousand year old vampire he guesses.

"Klaus tells me he took you with him to pay a visit Bonnie."

The mention of her name made his ears prick up.

"She certainly is fascinating," Kol mused, "Have you met her?" he asked Elijah in hopes that he may be able to answer some of his questions.

"I have. Why do you ask?"

"She interests me," he answered his brother and sat upright on his bed.

"She's a very interesting soul," Elijah confirmed with a small head nod.

"What is she like?" Kol asked curiously.

A small smile appeared on the older Originals face. It didn't surprise him that his youngest brother had found interest in the young Bennett witch. "From what I have gathered from the small time I have spent with her, she is very moral, judgemental, fiercely loyal and willing to lay down her life for those she loves." Elijah may not have spent a whole lot of time with Bonnie, but he held a high level of respect for her. It was part of the reason he escaped with Klaus before she had a chance to kill herself trying to kill them.

Kol took in every trait that his brother listed, it wasn't enough though. He wanted to know more. "What else?"

Elijah began to inform his youngest brother of a few more of the young witch's personality, based off what he had discovered from Luka Martin and observing the doppelganger and her friends unbeknownst of the third presence in the room. Stefan stood by the balcony door, listening to every word that was shared from the brothers.

* * *

After Klaus and Kol had stopped for a visit, Bonnie had rang Damon to let him know of the discovery she made.

"He's Klaus' brother?" he asked her over the phone after she told him.

"Yeah, his name is Kol," she informed him as she sat on her bed. "You there?" she questioned when he went silent.

"Yeah, just came back. Guess your spell worked then."

She could hear the two of them talking in muffled voices and rolled her eyes when she heard what sounded like a slap to the head. Those two really needed to work out their issues. "Hey! Still here," she called out.

"Stefan says he needs you to come over," he said to her.

"What's going on?" she questioned with furrowed brows.

"He's got some information he wants to share."

"Alright, I'll be there in ten," she replied and hung up and quickly made her way to her car.

* * *

"So Klaus' brother, Kol is the one that has been appearing in Bonnie's dreams?" Stefan asked Damon who nodded. "Good."

"Good?" Damon raised an eyebrow at his brother. "How is that good? I doubt we're going to get his help if he is Klaus' brother."

"Oh, I don't think it will be too difficult to persuade him," Stefan smirked.

"What's going through that head of yours?"

"Just something interesting I encounter while watching Kol and Elijah at their mansion."

"Go on," Damon urged cautiously.

"It seems that Kol is a bit smitten with Bonnie."

Damon could feel a small smirk form on his face, "are you suggesting what I think you are?"

"This could work and you know it, Damon. Bonnie could pull this off."

"Bonnie could pull what off?" The young witch's voice sounded and the two turned to face her. She had her hands on her hips and had an expecting expression on her face, "I'm waiting."

"We're talking about Kol being Klaus' brother," Damon said.

"And?"

"So in your dreams, he says he can help you?" Damon asked the witch standing across from him who nodded her head, "Well then, let's get his help," he smirked at his brother and the witch.

"Yeah, I'm sure that'll be a piece of cake, Hi, Kol! So listen I've been having dreams of you and you told me you could help me so could you?" Bonnie mocked what the elder Salvatore said with a roll of her green eyes.

Damon narrowed his eyes at the witch then turned to look at his brother, motioning him to take over.

"The shielding spell that I had you perform on me earlier, well I've been using it to spy on Klaus and his family and it seems that Kol has taken a rather large interest in you, Bonnie," Stefan revealed to the witch, and Bonnie's eyes widened once she realised what he was getting at.

"No!" she fiercely shook her head.

"Bonnie, please just hear us out," Damon tried to reason.

"Hear you out? You are talking about me trying to seduce an Original!" She all but yelled out in disbelief.

"Yeah, pretty much," Stefan said and leaned back into his chair and put his feet on the table in front of him with a bored expression painted on his face, "you do that, he falls for you, you act like your falling for him, you get in with the Originals," he explained with a wicked smirk appearing on his face.

Bonnie just sat there in front of the two Salvatore brothers, eyes wide with what they were saying. How the hell could they expect her to do that!

"You want me to act like some sort of double agent?"

Damon nodded his head, "Yup, you need the act like the 'love' you form for Kol is stronger than anything you have felt and that you'd do anything for him up to and including betraying your own friends," he said, his smirk equally as wicked as his brothers.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me!" She exclaimed and shot up from her seat and started pacing, wringing her hands together anxiously. "There is no way I can do this!"

"Look, Bonnie, this is the only plan that could actually work and we know you can pull it off," Stefan said and walked over to the witch and placed his hands on her shoulder to calm her down, "you can do this," he whispered encouragingly making Bonnie frown lightly and let out a sigh.

"So what do I do?" she asked with a slight whine in her voice, giving in to the plan. What else was there to do?

"When he approaches you, act interested in him but don't make it too obvious. Klaus will definitely pick up on that," Damon offered. "Also, we need to decide now on whether we just keep this between us three or we tell the others, I vote we keep it between us."

"We need to keep it between us, that way it will be more believable when Bonnie 'switches' sides," the smirk never left Stefan's face as he was talking. "The reactions of Elena and Caroline will be what Klaus will focus on; if he finds anything fake it'll be over."

Bonnie looked between the two Salvatore's before nodding her head in agreement.

"So when are we doing this?" she asked the two vampires.

"You said Klaus wanted to have a meeting tomorrow at the Grill, yes?" he asked and Bonnie nodded. "We'll start there. It's just going to be them, Stefan, me and you."

"Why just us three?"

"We are the ones orchestrating everything; we're the thorns in his side," Stefan explained, "His exact words."

"Did you find out what the meeting is about?" She questioned Stefan curiously.

"The forth coffin and some other crap," he replied, bored already.

* * *

Noon the next day, Damon and Bonnie pulled up to the Grill, Stefan already there.

"You ready for this, judgey?" Damon asked her when he pulled into the car park of the Mystic Grill. Bonnie nodded her head at him with a determined look on her face and got out of Damon's car. They got to the entrance and before Bonnie could walk in, Damon pulled her back gently, "you'll be fine, we know you can do this," he said quietly to her and she sent him a small 'thank you' smile and walked into the Grill, Damon following behind her.

The two looked around and spotted Stefan sitting at a round table, surrounded by four Originals. Klaus, Elijah, Kol and the other Bonnie had never met him before or seen him but he must have been Finn. Bonnie's eyes went back to Kol, who was gazing intently at her. She looked back up at Damon who gave her a slight head nod before they made their way to the table.

There were two empty seats at the table, both next to each other but one next to Stefan and the other next to Elijah but directly across from where Kol sat, so needless to say, Damon took the seat beside Stefan and let Bonnie have the one across from Kol.

"Thank you for joining us today," Klaus started once they sat down, "now I'm sure there are no introductions necessary but just in case, brothers, this is Damon and Stefan Salvatore and their witch, the lovely Miss Bonnie Bennett," Klaus introduced and sent a charming smile her way.

"I'm not their witch," Bonnie interrupted him, narrowing her eyes. Just because she helped the Salvatore's that all of a sudden made her their witch?

"My apologies, Miss Bennett," he winked before continuing, "And these are my other brothers, Finn and Kol," he said and finished the introductions. "Now, before we start I would just like to point out that I have my hybrids stationed in and around this establishment, so I hope you do not have any…surprises up your sleeves," he told them with his usual evil smirk on his face. "Okay, on to business."

Klaus started talking about the whereabouts of his hidden coffin and some other bullshit, Bonnie really didn't give a crap, plus she kind of found his voice to be somewhat annoying right now. She wasn't even aware of how anxious she was right now, it wasn't until she felt Damon put a hand just above her knee that was folded over her other leg she realised that she was moving her leg around quite a bit, a common sign for boredom or anxiety. So when Damon placed his hand on her knee, she ceased her movements. He squeezed her leg gently, signalling for her to calm down.

Over the next ten minutes the table was filled with questions, demands, snarky answers and death threats…all coming from Klaus and Damon. Stefan had remained abnormally quiet throughout the conversation. Elijah never spoke a word, just watched everything unfold with a very bored expression on his face, she noticed Finn's attention swiftly change back and forth from the conversation unfolding in front of him to some random women that filled the Grill and Kol? Well when his attention wasn't on Klaus, it was on her. She felt nervous under his gaze but it didn't make her uncomfortable at all. A part of her liked it, a part of her liked that she had caught the attention of someone as powerful as he. She was so used to Elena and Caroline getting all the men that it was actually kind of nice for the attention to be on her, even if it was from a thousand year old vampire.

She locked eyes with the youngest Original brother, his eyes were a beautiful brown colour, just like they were in her dreams and the more they stared the more she felt her body begin to heat up. She had to look away, but she couldn't. His gaze was almost hypnotic and just held her in. It was only when Damon squeezed her leg once again that she snapped out of whatever trance she was in. She quickly composed herself and looked away from the vampire across from her, but not before sending him one of her best smiles and the smile he sent back at her nearly made her heart stop.

She could see out of the corner of her eye that Damon had a very discreet smirk on his face, he had seen the little moment that Bonnie had shared with Kol and he had to admit that he was proud of the witch by giving the Original one of her flirtatious smiles. He had a very good feeling that this plan would be one that would actually work.

The only problem was that Damon was so sure about this plan and Kol falling for Bonnie that he did not realise the complications that lay ahead. One that could destroy not just their plan, but everything he had worked for.


	4. Bonnie the Girl vs Bonnie the Witch

"I don't think I can go through with this," Bonnie said to Damon as they returned to the boarding house once the meeting had come to an end. They had been rather pleased with how the whole thing turned out (even if nothing was settled). But Bonnie was having second thoughts about the plan Damon and Stefan had concocted. Bonnie would do anything to ensure the safety of those she cares about but was playing with someone's feelings (even a dead someone) something she would really do?

"Can you think of another way to get his help?" Damon questioned her. "And besides, he is a vampire, Bonnie. Just think of all the terrible things that he's done in his lifetime. He probably deserves this."

"A little rich coming from you don't you think? Would you really want someone to use your feelings for them to their advantage get what they want?"

"I got two words for you, Elena and Katherine," he replied and raised a finger with each name.

Bonnie sent Damon a sad smile, "Exactly. They made you feel like crap, Damon. I don't know if I could do that to someone."

"Look, Bonnie, I'll admit that I have done some pretty shitty things in my life but I would say that I am most likely a saint compared to Kol," he tried to reason with her. Their whole plan rested with her and if she felt she couldn't do this then it was all over she had to believe she could. "And what's the big deal? You can try to kill Klaus or any other vampire but you feel that messing with their feelings is crossing the line?"

Bonnie looked down at her feet, there were so many feelings and thoughts running through her right now. There was no doubt in her mind that she wanted to take down the Originals, especially Klaus, but she wasn't going to do this as Bonnie the witch, but rather Bonnie the girl and this is something that the latter would not do.

"I know you don't want to do this, and I don't particularly want you to but we need you to," Damon said as Bonnie lifted her head to look at him. "This could be it! We can end the Originals and get on with our lives." He said with his usual crazy eye movements that Bonnie found kind of quirky but it suited him.

"I realize all this, Damon, I really do but that doesn't change how I feel about."

"We're not asking you to like it, we're asking you to do it," Stefan said as he came striding into the house and stopped in front of her. "Kol is Klaus' brother, he will eventually side with Klaus and they will destroy us. We've got this chance to get the upper hand, let's take it."

"And from the little scene I witnessed today, I'd say that shouldn't be too hard," Damon said and jabbed Bonnie playfully in the ribs with his elbow. "I thought he was going to rip your clothes off and go at it right there on the table," he said and received a slap to the chest from the witch.

Bonnie stared at the two vampires that stood before her, "are you positive that this is going to work?"

"I'd say about eighty-five percent positive," Stefan answered with a casual shrug of his shoulders, earning him a glare from his older brother.

"It'll work." Damon reassured his witch friend, who was already regretting the part she was going to play in this charade.

* * *

"What is to stop us from removing the dagger from Rebekah right now?" Kol questioned his older brother as he stared at the coffin containing his younger sister.

"We will, brother, just be patient," Elijah replied and placed a hand on his shoulder.

Though Kol and Rebekah argued like no others, they were very close and they missed each other dearly when they were separated for long periods of time.

"Nik is hiding something from us," Kol noted, "Rebekah is quite capable of handling herself, and she doesn't need to be kept safe in a coffin."

"I see you took what Bonnie had to say in to consideration," Elijah smiled, recalling the young witch's words from the meeting.

_"It's kind of funny that you keep Rebekah in her coffin for her own safety, yet she is an Original. There is nothing that can kill you...unless you have her in there for another reason..."_

Elijah enjoyed watching his brother nearly fume when Bonnie had brought up the subject of Rebekah and his reaction had confirmed his suspicions about Klaus' motives.

"She made a valid point," he replied and turned away from the coffin.

"We'll have her back soon, Kol, just be patient," Elijah reassured his younger brother. Elijah planned to bring his only sister back into the world; he just had to wait for the right moment. He'd have his family back together eventually and when the time came, Klaus would not be a part of it.

* * *

The next day Bonnie was back at the Mystic Grill but this time it was with her two best friends, Elena and Caroline. She and Elena had somewhat made up after their little spat the other day (courtesy of Caroline) but there was still some tension in the air between the two girls.

It had been a rather stressful day at school for the three so they decided to grab an early dinner before having to get started on a group project that were handed out today and although they tried to keep anything supernatural out of the equation, it didn't take Elena long to bring up the sealed coffin.

"How are you and Lucy going with opening the coffin?" She asked and Bonnie looked up from her book. Bonnie had contacted Lucy not too long ago, in fact it was after one of her recurring dreams of Klaus and the coffin only this time she was the one in the coffin and Lucy opened it. She could only assume that Lucy was meant to help her open it. It wasn't easy trying to find Lucy, it's not like she gave her a phone number or address, just left her with a "you'll see me again,' but Bonnie eventually managed to track her cousin down (with help from Damon and his compulsion power) and Lucy was more than happy to help.

"I thought we agreed on nothing supernatural tonight," Bonnie responded with a disapproving look.

"Exactly, nothing supernatural tonight, just normal, boring homework," Caroline sided with her witch friend.

"Fine!" Elena gave up and Caroline and Bonnie shared a look of victory.

They went back to their homework but it wasn't long before Elena spoke up again, "No one told me Elijah was un-daggered," she said as started towards the entrance with bewilderment. Bonnie and Caroline turned in their seats and saw Elijah, Kol and Finn walking in.

"So much for nothing supernatural tonight," Bonnie mumbled, turning back in her seat.

"Why can we never just have a simple, supernatural free night?" Caroline questioned with an annoyed expression on her face.

"Who's behind him?" Elena asked.

"They're his brothers, Finn and Kol," as soon as she spoke his name, Kol turned to look at her with that devastatingly attracting smile upon his face.

"And you know that how?" The blonde questioned with a raised brow. Bonnie contemplated about telling her two friends that he had been the man that had been appearing in her dreams but decided against it. If she did tell them, she knew that Caroline would certainly be able to piece everything together once Bonnie started to get close with Kol.

"Klaus paid me a visit the other day, brought Kol with him," she explained to her friends and was immediately met with worried expressions and a chorus of 'are you alright?' and 'did he do anything to you?'

"I'm fine, he just wanted to arrange a meeting," She smiled at her friends concern and reassured them till they calmed down.

"What meeting?" Elena all but demanded. Bonnie rolled her eyes, Elena really did not like to be left out of things even when they did not particularly concern her.

"He wants his coffin back. He made a few deals but we didn't accept them," Bonnie explained to Elena. "And that is all you're getting tonight, 'Lena. The only thing we are going to be discussing tonight is history," she waved her history book in front of Elena's face to emphasize her point.

For the rest of the evening they had successfully managed to avoid everything supernatural and ignore the three Original vampires who were drinking at the bar.

* * *

Bonnie exited the grill an hour and a half later, Caroline had been called home by her mother ten minutes earlier and Elena had decided to see if Elijah was open to any more deals and assured the witch that she wasn't needed. The only reason Bonnie agreed was because of the soft spot she knew Elijah had for her doppelganger friend. The young girl rummaged through her bag for her car keys and nearly jumped out of her skin when someone approached her from behind. She steadied her breathing and turned around. It was Kol.

"I apologise, I didn't mean to startle you," he said with a playful grin. "I just wanted to properly introduce myself; I don't believe we have ever had the chance to get well acquainted." Bonnie nearly swooned at the sound of his voice; she found that it suited him well.

"I don't really associate myself with vampires," she replied, her voice sharp. Damon told her that she had to (for lack of a better term) play hard to get and act uninterested. Klaus would know that something was strange if Bonnie automatically changed her views towards vampires.

"You associate yourself with the Salvatore's and that blonde friend of yours," he countered and took a step towards her and lowered his voice to a deliciously low tone. "Why not add one more to the list?"

"Caroline has been my friend since birth, and I work with the Salvatore's to keep Elena safe," she replied.

"You didn't answer my question, beautiful," he noted, that devilish smirk making its regular appearance.

Bonnie smiled sweetly at him before replying, "My list is full. Three is enough for me."

"Well, we'll just have to change that won't we?"

"Good luck with that," she replied and started to move away from him.

Kol watched as she made her way to her car, a devious smile upon his face. As far as he was concerned she had just declared a challenge, and he was never one to turn down a challenge.

* * *

It had been a few days since Bonnie had last seen Kol and she was a little worried that she may have completely ruined Damon and Stefan's plan and she really didn't want to deal with them if that were the case.

She was currently at the Mystic Falls library to get some books for her history report that Alaric had assigned to her to help pick up her grades. He'd been handed out assignments left, right and centre lately. She let out a small groan of frustration when the book she was looking for was located on the very top shelf and set atop of a couple of other books, just out of her reach. The young girl stood on her toes and stretched as far as she could. So close, yet so far, she thought and pouted.

Bonnie stilled her movements when she felt the change in the atmosphere. She could feel the presence behind her, making the hair on the back of her neck stand up. He was here…She obviously hadn't ruined the plan.

"Which one are you after, beautiful?" he said lowly into her ear, the sensation of his warm breath on her ear sending a violent shudder throughout her body.

The younger girl took a moment to compose herself before she spoke, "I've got it," she said and with a quick glance around her immediate area, she used her powers to make the book come flying off the shelf and into her waiting hands and then she turned and looked up at the vampire, "see," she waved the book in the air a little, "all under control."

"Now that is just cheating," he commented with a smile.

"I don't play fair with vampires," she replied with a bright smile.

"So I've heard. My brother informed me of your prejudices against vampires," he said and leant against one of the bookshelves. "Might I ask why?"

"It's more of a personal reason then a witch related reason," she answered briefly.

"Would you still feel the same if vampires had not been involved with this personal matter?" Kol questioned.

Bonnie pondered his question for a moment. He brought up a good question. Would she still feel the same if they hadn't taken away the only person who every really cared about her? Or would her duties as a witch keep her judgement of vampires the same?

"I think as a witch I'll always have these issues with vampires but with what happened, it made everything all the more personal," she answered honestly.

Kol stared at her for a quick minute, trying to figure out the girl in front of him. The complexity of women sure hadn't changed since he'd been 'dead'. "Well if the need arises, I'd be more than happy to help change your views on vampires," he said lowly and moved closer to her.

"Really?" Bonnie asked and tilted her head slightly.

"Absolutely," he drawled out.

"And how exactly would you go about that?" she asked, feigning curiosity.

"You'll just have to wait and find out," he answered her, his eyes twinkling with mischief.

Oh he was going to enjoy this…


	5. Family

"This is useless!" Bonnie groaned and let go of her cousin's hand. It was their fifth attempt in the last hour to open that damned coffin and still nothing.

"I don't think even a buzz saw could open this bitch up," Lisa commented and pushed her knee into the coffin, making a 'thud' sound echo through the cave.

Bonnie sat down on a nearby rock and put her head in her hands. She was running out of ideas. She had tried every single spell that she could think off and not one of them worked and it was frustrating the hell out of her.

"Looks like it's going to have to be plan b, cuz," Lucy said coming to stand in front of the younger witch. Bonnie looked up at Lucy with disgruntled expression on her face. "You up for seducing an Original, baby?" she asked with a smart arse smile on her lips which made Bonnie narrow her eyes at her cousin. She had convinced Damon and Stefan to let Lucy in on their plan. Her cousin was a little shocked at first but soon came to terms with the plan and agreed with the brothers that it could very well work and had been giving Bonnie some tips (which she was very grateful for so now she didn't have to go to Damon or Stefan for tips).

"I thought that was already the plan," she muttered and stood up.

"You do realise that you don't have to go through with it if you don't want to?" Lucy said, she was protective of her family and if Bonnie did not want to do this then Lucy would not allow her to.

"Yeah, I do," Bonnie said softly.

"You don't have to do anything you don't want, Bon."

"We have a chance to take down the Originals, I'm going to take that chance no matter what I have to do," she responded and started to pack away some of the grimoires they had brought with them to the cave,

"Aaand from what Damon has said, I don't think it will be too hard to get in with them…or at least with that one…what's his name?"

"Kol," Bonnie replied.

"That's the one. So how's it feel?"

Bonnie looked up at her cousin with a confused expression, "how does what feel?"

"Being the object of desire for an a thousand year old vampire," she clarified.

Bonnie shrugged her shoulders, "fine, I guess."

"Just fine you guess? Seriously, Bon, I'm your cousin. You can tell me these things," she said and playfully bumped into Bonnie's side.

"Okay, okay. It's…nice being the one someone wants," she gave in and revealed. "I've been so used to Elena and Caroline getting all the attention that I guess I just kind of faded into the background but when Kol looked at me…the way he looked at me…" she trailed off. "And it's strange, it's like I can feel when he is around me and I'm afraid that I'll end up screwing everything up?"

The way her cousin spoke had Lucy a little concerned. "Sweetie, it's fine that you like the attention that he has for you, it really is and you can use it to your advantage but you can't let it get past that. And if you ever feel that it might, you need to come to me. Not Damon, not Stefan, me and I will get you out of there immediately," she said to Bonnie who nodded in agreement. "Don't ever feel afraid or ashamed to come to me, you can talk to me about anything, I won't think any less of you and I'll help as much as I can."

Bonnie smiled and could feel the tears start to well up in her eyes. It's been awhile since she had someone who she could really talk to, someone who could help fill the emptiness she'd been carrying around inside of her since her Grams' death. "Thank you, Lucy."

"Hey now, witches stick together. We side with our own before anyone else, well the good ones anyway," Lisa said and wrapped an arm around Bonnie. "Now, let's go snag you an Original," Lucy said with a wicked smile as she pulled her arm away from Bonnie and they made their way out of the cave.

* * *

Kol had been waiting impatiently outside the young Bennett witches house for the last half hour. She had been constantly on his mind and he couldn't wait any longer to see her. The Original could not even give a straight answer to why he was so enchanted by Bonnie. It could have been the way she stood her ground against his brother; the way she fought back against him, that was what drew him to her in the first place. There was just something about dear Bonnie. She was a complex creature, she keeps the real her locked away safe inside so no one can hurt her, he could tell that she'd been hurt many times and each time a little more of her locks away and he planned to unlock all of it.

When her car finally pulled into the driveway, he watched from his spot under the tress next to her house and waited for the perfect moment to approach her (and maybe scare her a little). He was about to come out of his hiding place when she came to an abrupt stop, tensing up. She slowly turned around and looked about her surroundings, chewing on her lip in a way that tempted him to unspeakable things.

"You know, stalking isn't really an attractive quality these days," she said in a normal tone. He had been spotted. Clever little thing, he thought before stepping out of the shadows and approaching the witch.

"I'm a vampire, it's what we do," he said with a careless shrug of his shoulders.

"Mmhmm," she mumbled and hoisted her bag further up her shoulder. "So what do I owe the pleasure of your presence?"

"Do I even need a reason to visit you, dear Bonnie?" he replied and moved to take a hold of the bag strap and lifted it from her shoulder when he saw her struggling to raise the bag higher onto her shoulder.

"Everyone else does, so why not you too?"

"I am not everyone else, beautiful," he responded, giving her a breathtaking smile.

"Are you really expecting me to believe that you came here just to chat?" Bonnie questioned, side eyeing the vampire in front of her.

"Why not? I find myself to enjoy your company and I was hoping to get to know you better," he answered honestly, moving closer to her. Bonnie raised her hand to his chest to stop him from moving any closer towards her but before she could take it away he covered it with his own, keeping it there and continued to stare at her. "What do you say? We would go inside and get to know each other," he offered.

Bonnie pulled her hand out of his grasp and instantly missed the surprising warmth that his hand provided. "I'm not inviting you inside," she told him.

"Can't blame a vampire for trying, right?" he grinned.

"At least not until I know you better," she finished, a small smile coming to rest upon her face. "I surprisingly find myself to enjoy your company too," she said, causing Kol's grin to brighten. "Just give me a few minutes to drop this inside and talk to my cousin," she told him and he nodded and handed her the bag back.

Bonnie's father had been away for the last couple of days, him and his 'girlfriend' had decided to go on a holiday so she had asked Lucy to stay with her while he was away. She quickly made her way inside and dropped her bag onto the couch and called out for her cousin who came walking out of the kitchen a few seconds later, a bowl of something in her hands.

"What's up?" she asked and sat on the couch.

Bonnie had to be careful with what she said; no doubt Kol would be listening outside so she grabbed a pen and some paper and scribbled on it and gave it to Lucy.

_Going out with Kol, tell Damon._

Lucy read the paper and looked up at her and nodded her head. "Please be careful," she whispered lowly.

"I will," Bonnie whispered back and headed to the front door.

Once she was out the door she smacked right into something hard. Either she didn't actually open the door and walked right into it or Kol had been standing there. She went with the latter when she heard a low chuckle.

"Ow," she grumbled and stepped back a bit, "don't do that!" she scolded and pushed him out of the way.

"Where would you like to go?" Kol asked her.

"There is a place I usually go to when I need to clear my head; we can go there if you like."

"Lead the way, beautiful," he said, motioning her to walk slightly ahead of him. He expected her to choose somewhere that was swarmed with people and was surprised when she started to lead him into woods located behind her house. She may have revealed that she enjoyed his company, but he still did not expect that she would want to be alone with him and especially not in a secluded area. But who was he to complain, he would finally get some alone time with the gorgeous girl who'd been plaguing his thoughts non-stop, in a very, very good way.

"You're not leading me out here to kill me are you?" He said with feign concern as she lead him deeper into the woods.

"Lucky for you I am in a peaceful mood today," she replied.

"Could you even kill me?" he questioned curiously.

Bonnie stopped walked and turned to face him, "No. Not unless I harness the dead witches' powers again which I doubt they would let me do. They are kind of pissed at me."

"Was that how you were going to kill my brother?" he asked and they continued to walk.

"It was and I would have succeeded too if Elijah hadn't fallen for his lies."

"I think I need to full story here," he muttered. Kol really wanted to hear about how his brother nearly died at the hands of the witch in front of him.

"Well, the original plan was for me to go all out against Klaus and kill him and eventually killing myself as well but then Elijah said if I could deliver him to the brink of death then he could finish him off. But that never happened and before I could take them both out he took Klaus and got the hell out there," she explained to Kol. "If we didn't listen to your brother then Klaus would be dead."

"And so would you," he said and took her hand, turning her around to face him. "I do care for my brother, but he is not worth your life."

Bonnie looked up at Kol when he finished speaking, "You don't know me yet you think I'm worth more than your brother?"

"Anybody is worth more than Niklaus, and I'm hoping that I will know you after today," he said, brushing his thumb back and forth over the back of her hand. Kol had dreamt of the day where Klaus would meet his end, but he was glad Bonnie had not succeeded in killing him. He would not have met her if she had. God, he sounded like such a sap. Having an interest in the girl was one thing, but having concern for her wellbeing a whole different thing and he was in dire need of killing something right about now to make him feel more like himself...

Bonnie said nothing to him but pulled her hand out of his and continued to make her way through the woods.

"Here we are," Bonnie announced when they finally came to a stop where the woods opened up into a small clearing with a medium sized pond in the middle. The scenery never failed to take her breath away. Her Grams used to always bring her here when she was upset and it became a regular hang out spot for Bonnie when she needed to be alone. She lead the vampire over to a small gazebo type thing that her dad had built for her when she started coming her more often, and she took a seat and looked up at Kol who stood in front of her sitting form. "You wanted to get know me, so…" she beckoned him to take over.

"I can ask you anything I want?" he asked her with a cheeky expression.

"Not anything, within reason," she replied.

"Personal questions?"

"You can ask, but I probably won't answer," she answered with a grin.

"Well there goes most of my questions," he responded and took a seat next to her, close enough for them to be touching. "What is the reason that you hate vampires?" He knew that most witches disliked vampires, but Bonnie's hatred for them seemed to run a little deeper and although she had revealed earlier that it was a personal reason, he was curious to what that reason was.

"I told you already."

"No, you told me it was a personal reason," he countered.

"And I told you I wasn't going to answer personal questions," she replied, turning in her seat to face him.

"You said you probably wouldn't," he continued to banter. "How about this, you answer this and I'll stop all together with the personal questions?" he offered and matched her position on the seat, facing her. The Original had to smile when he could see the small mental battle going on inside her mind, so he gave her the look he used to give to his mother or to Rebekah when they were mad at him.

"Stop that!" She glowered. "Fine! If you stop looking at me like that I'll tell you," she gave in and Kol gave a victory grin. The look never failed.

"I'm sure you've heard of Katherine Pearce or Katerina Petrova whichever one," she started and Kol nodded. She was the apparent doppelganger of Tatia and managed to escape Klaus once she realised what he was going to do to her. "Back in 1864, she came to Mystic Falls and started playing around with the Salvatore brothers causing a lifelong grudge between the two, long story short she got found out by the council and was supposedly captured along with twenty-six or so other vampires and were burnt in a church. But, my ancestor, Emily Bennett, had protected the vampires and sealed them in a tomb below the church. Last year Damon and Stefan came back to Mystic Falls and Damon planned on opening the tomb and getting Katherine out and around that time was when my powers started to first develop. My Grams would tell me these crazy stories about our family being witches but I always just brushed it off. In my defence she was drunk quite a bit," she laughed lightly. "But I started to believe her when some weird stuff started happening…

"What happened?" Kol questioned.

"I got this really horrible feeling when I first touched Stefan, I predicted my history teachers death, set a car on fire, got possessed by Emily and got my throat ripped by Damon, then got kidnapped by a vampire who wanted me to open the tomb." She simply as if she were just listing what she had done today.

"Was that vampire after Katherine too?"

Bonnie shook her head, "her mother got caught in the tomb. Anyway, Elena promised Damon that she would help him get Katherine back so Grams and I pretty much had no choice but to open the tomb. So we did."

"That's it?"

"We only opened the tomb, the seal that trapped vampires was still left up so Damon could enter but he couldn't leave but he took Elena in with him and Stefan ran in when she screamed. I couldn't leave Stefan in there; he'd done so much for me so I begged Grams to break the seal. She didn't want to but did it anyway because I asked her to," she said and bit her lip. "It was a rough spell and it exhausted us, her more than me," she then let out a bitter laugh, "it turns out that Katherine wasn't even in the tomb. She'd faked the whole thing."

"I got Grams home and she was so weak," Bonnie dug her nails into her palm to stop the tears that threatened to fall. "I got her to her room and left to get her some tea and when I went back to her she wasn't breathing. The doctors said her heart gave out." Just as her nails were about the pierce the skin on her palm, she felt him uncurl her fist and take a hold of her hand. She must have looked completely weak and pathetic to him right now.

Bonnie had never really spoken to anyone about Grams' death, her dad didn't know the real reason behind it and she couldn't really talk to Elena about it. It might have hurt to talk or think about it, but made her feel just that little bit better to get it out. "The worst part was that she died for nothing. The seal lifted after she passed and the vampires got out."

"I'm sorry, it's never easy losing a family member," he told her and Bonnie looked up at him and gave him a small smile. She knew that he lost his mother and his brother back when he were human and he didn't even know who the true murderer of his mother was.

* * *

Kol walked through the front door of the Mikaelson mansion and let it slam shut behind him, letting his family know he had arrived back home and it did not take long for Klaus to appear in front of him.

"Where the hell have you been?" He seethed.

"Not that it is any of your business, but if you must know I was with Bonnie," Kol replied with a smug look. Kol knew that Klaus had attempted to capture the interest of the witch but Bonnie would not look twice at him.

"What were you doing with her?" he asked with narrowed eyes.

"Well now that isn't any of your business," Kol responded, keeping the smug look which provoked Klaus to slam his younger brother against the wall, the force cracking it.

"Don't you kill her, Kol," he growled dangerously, fist enclosing around Kol's neck.

"Why are you so concerned with her?" Kol gritted out.

"You know why, Kol! She's Ayanna's descendant," Klaus responded and let go of his brother.

"What's your point?" Kol questioned, brushing the dust of his clothes from the cracked wall.

"My point is Ayanna was part of our family and one day Bonnie will be too," he said and got closer to Kol, "so whatever it is you have going with her, do not screw it up."

* * *

When Bonnie went inside Lucy was nowhere to be found but a note on the fridge informed the younger Bennett that she'd be out getting a drink. Crumbling the note up in her fists she threw it in the trash can and headed up to her room. Kol had walked her back to her house and left after she walked in. After she spilled her guts about her Grams to him (and cried in front of him) he had lightened to mood by asking her the basic 'get to know you' questions, which she greatly appreciated. She went from crying in front of him to laughing with him and honestly, she didn't see what was so bad about him…


	6. I'm Not Jealous

Bonnie strutted through the doors of the Mystic Falls high school, arms [full](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/6/Fool_Me_One_Fool_Me_Twice) of book and flicking thought he papers of her assignment making sure everything was there and in place and ready to hand into Alaric Mr Saltzman. Bonnie reached her locker and attempted to manoeuvre the books from arm to arm to put her locker combination in and just before everything tumbled out of her arms someone came to her rescue and took the books from her.

"Let me help with that," he said and Bonnie looked up at him. She wasn't too surprised who it was, he had made a habit over the past to help her when she was experiencing some type of visible troubles.

"Thanks, Daniel," she said, shooting a friendly smile to the football player. Daniel Lieberman was your typical friendly jock, standing at just over six feet tall, piercing blue eyes with styled brown hair and a strong build.

"Anytime, Bon," he grinned back and handed her the books back once she got her locker [open](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/6/Fool_Me_One_Fool_Me_Twice). "How've you been? Haven't seen you around much lately," he commented.

"I've been good, just got a lot to deal with right now," she replied and shut her locker, turning to face the boy.

"Fair enough, so are you going to the party tonight?" He asked.

"I completely forgot about the party tonight," she groaned and leant her head [back](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/6/Fool_Me_One_Fool_Me_Twice) against the cool metal of her locker. The party that the captain of the football teams throws annually without fail was the furthest things from the witch's mind right now. With everything going on from the coffin to Kol it just didn't seem at all important. She wondered if Elena, Caroline and Matt remembered about it. "I don't know if I can go," she said to him.

"Oh come on, if you have a lot to deal with a party to help unwind. It will be good for you!" He urged, "I'll even pick you up," he added, nudging her side.

Bonnie contemplated for [a moment](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/6/Fool_Me_One_Fool_Me_Twice); Damon did mention something earlier about meeting up and discussing their plan. "I'll get back to you on that," she replied and turned on her heel and walked towards her first class, sending the football player a final wave and smile.

She didn't get too far before Caroline came bouncing up beside her, "Are you going to Ryan's party with Daniel?" she asked with a wide grin plastered on her face. What was she thinking? Of course Caroline wouldn't have forgotten the party.

"I don't know, maybe," came her reply.

"Maybe yes!" Caroline exclaimed, "Plus, you need a guy in your life right now and Daniel is totally cute and really sweet and he really likes you and don't you dare roll your eyes at me, Bonnie Bennett," Caroline said, pointing an accusing finger at her best friend. "Please go. Elena isn't going and Matt has to work so I'll have no one," she pouted and the look Bonnie gave her let her know that she had won this round. The blonde vampire beamed happily, gave Bonnie a sideways hug and muttered a 'thank you' and a 'love you' before the two parted ways for their respected classes.

* * *

Bonnie could not help the small smile that appeared on her face when she walked out of the school that afternoon and noticed Kol leaning against her car.

"What did I tell you about stalking?" she asked as she neared the vampire.

"I get bored being cooped up at home," he replied with a casual shrug and stood up straight once she was closer.

"So you decided to come and annoy me?" she questioned with a raised brow.

"You entertain me," he responded, coming closer to the witch. "Which bring me to my next question, what are your plans for this evening?"

Bonnie's eyes widened in shock and surprise, she certainly was not expecting this. "I promised Caroline that I would meet her at some party tonight," she informed him, placing a not-so-honest regretful smile on her face.

"Well cancel on her, come out with me instead," he tried to persuade the witch, a charming smile on his face for good measure.

She opened her mouth to reply but someone calling out her name cut her off. Both Kol and Bonnie turned and saw Daniel coming towards them. Oh no, she thought to herself, she didn't particularly want Kol to know she was going to the party with someone, she didn't want anything to possible screw up the plan.

"Hey, Bonnie, so Caroline told me you decided to come after all," he started with a wide grin on his face. "Do you want me to pick you up at seven? Maybe we can grab something to eat at the grill before the party." He continued.

"Sure, sounds great," Bonnie agreed with what she hoped to be a convincing smile. "I'll see you then."

Daniel said some parting words before leaving towards his own car.

The witch spun back around to face Kol and was a little taken back by the expression on his face; she did not expect any sort of reaction from him. He didn't look overly jealous or anything like that but the look that his face held made Bonnie make a mental note to keep Daniel as far away from the Original vampire as possible.

"My request still stands. Leave the commoner and the blonde and come out with me," he continued to push, determined for her to agree.

"I made a promise, I can't just back out of it," she responded as she unlocked her car and threw her bag and books in the back seat.

"Why not?" he all but whined, "you'll have a lot more fun with me then you ever will with that," he said with distaste and pointed in Daniel's direction.

"Don't be mean, he's really nice," Bonnie replied, not particularly liking how he was speaking of Daniel. He was a person not a 'that'.

"I'm sure he is, he'd have to be with that face," his comment earned him a hard hit to the chest from the witch along with a disapproving look.

"I happen to think he is very attractive and you are starting to sound like you're jealous."

"Oh I'm not jealous, beautiful; I just don't want you to waste your time with him," he responded to her accusation.

"That's not your call to make," she moved away from him and opened the driver's side door of her car.

Kol watched as Bonnie got into her car and drive off and smirked when he realised that Bonnie never actually said she couldn't be with him tonight, she just said that she had made a promise and well…promises are made to be broken.

* * *

Kol made sure that he was at the Mystic Grill at six on the dot and waited for his Bonnie and her…date to arrive and his wait soon came to an end as Bonnie and whatever his name was entered the grill, a low growl rumbling deep in his chest when he noticed the arm thrown casually around Bonnie's shoulders, pulling her closet then necessary to him. Oh how he wanted to rip that arm clean off his body for even thinking he had a right to touch the goddess beside him.

"You've come to ruin dear Bonnie's date then have you?" His brother's voice sounded from next to him.

Kol turned his head to glare at Niklaus for calling whatever it was between those two a date before turning his attention back to Bonnie and the ape with her.

"You're going to kill him aren't you?" Klaus asked and stole the drink out of Kol's hand and taking a swig. It wasn't out of the usual for his younger brother to kill something if they were playing with what he wanted. He had always been a bit…unstable, even when they were humans.

"I've learnt enough about Bonnie to know if I did that she'd never speak to me again," he said and turned away from Bonnie to face his brother, a wicked smirk resting on his face. "Which is why you are going to do it for me, Nik," he said, clapping a hand onto his brother's shoulders.

"And just what makes you think I'll do that for you?" Klaus asked with a raised brow.

"Oh please, it's the least you could do after sticking a dagger in my heart for over a century," he said giving his brother the guilt trip and it wasn't long before Klaus let out an annoyed sigh. Guilt trips were the younger sibling's specialty.

"Any requests?" Klaus asked, giving in to his brother's wishes.

"Just make it hurt," he answered and set his empty glass on the bar, ordering another. "I'll get her away from him while you do that," he added and made his way over to Bonnie after downing the contents of his new drink.

Bonnie didn't noticed him until he stood right in front of the couple, "evening you two, having fun?" he asked innocently with faux interest.

"Kol, what are you doing?" Bonnie questioned in a warning tone. She had a feeling that nothing good could come from this.

"Nothing," he replied and then looked at Daniel, "go home and leave me to take care of the lovely lady here," he compelled, putting a hand on the back of Bonnie's shoulders, thumb brushing against some of her exposed skin.

"Kol, what the hell?" she exclaimed angrily as Daniel got up from the table and left without another word. "Why did you do that?" She sulked as he sat in the seat across from her.

"I decided that I wasn't going to take no as an answer so call up your blonde friend and tell her you can't make it," he said, resting his elbows upon the table, eyes subtly following his brother as he left the grill, trailing closely behind Daniel, "because you and I are going to have so much fun tonight," he told her and covered her hand with his and Bonnie could feel the knots in her stomach tighten, not sure if it was in a good way or a bad way.

* * *

Klaus stalked the young teenager as he made his way to his car. His moves were emotionless and robotic and would continue to be so until he stepped through his front door and the compulsion worn off, but of course he would not get that far.

When Daniel pulled out his keys to open his car, Klaus struck. Grabbing the back of his head and slamming it with un-humane strength onto the roof of his car, creating a rather large dent in the vehicle and killing him instantly. Usually Klaus would have gone the extra mile, keeping the boy alive and inflicting more pain onto him before draining him off blood but he found that it was best to not make this look like a vampire attack. For extra measure, Klaus smashed the window of the car and took a few things, along with the boy's wallet to make it look like a mugging. The hybrid tossed the items in the dumpster in the back alley then pulled out his cell phone and anonymously calling the police to inform them of the 'tragedy' that had just taken place before walking back into the grill and spotting his brother who was still talking up Bonnie.

The brother's eyes met and Klaus gave a nod letting Kol know that it was done and spoke lowly enough for his brother to hear him but no one else, "you two should get out of here, I called the police and Bonnie won't be having much fun when she finds out he is dead," he said to him, "leave through the back," he added and turned back to the bar to order himself a drink.

He smirked when he heard his brother sweet talking Bonnie to leave with him; she resisted at first but then gave in and reluctantly took his outstretched hand and allowed him to lead her out of the grill. The pang of jealously that Klaus felt was gone as quickly as it came. He did not doubt that he had no romantic feelings for the Bennett witch, he was jealous that Kol had somehow managed be alone with the beautiful witch on more than one occasion without it ending with her threatening to set him alight or actually setting him alight like she had to Klaus more than once. He wanted to be able to have the relationship with her that Kol have right now. He wants to be around her without her automatically going into servant of nature mode (or should he say servant of Elena Gilbert mode?) whenever he walks within a twenty foot radius of her.

The hybrid downed the rest of his drink before leaving the grill.

* * *

While they were walking out of the grill, Bonnie sent a text to Caroline explaining that her and Lucy might have figured a way to open the coffin so she couldn't make it to the party but would make up for it by attending the next five of Caroline's choice. Safe to say the blonde was a little mad at her bailing and there was no doubt that Caroline would make sure Bonnie stuck to her promise.

"Very interesting those contraptions," he noted as she slid her cell into her back pocket. "They would have been quite useful back in the day."

"Back in the day?" Bonnie repeated him with a giggle, "You sound like my grandfather. You're really showing your age there, Kol."

"Oh give me a break; I've been in a coffin for over a century."

"A century! Like one hundred years?" Bonnie's eyes widened in shock and surprise, she didn't know he'd been locked in a coffin for that long!

"Did you think Klaus would dagger us for a few months at a time?" Klaus asked in amusement at her reaction. "Besides, it's nothing compared to how long Finn had the dagger in his heart."

"How long?" Bonnie questioned curiously.

"Nine hundred years," he answered and Bonnie turned her head to look at him, a blank expression on her face.

"Nine hundred years," she repeated slowly, "Klaus kept your brother, his brother, daggered for nine hundred years? Wow! How is he handling all the changes?"

"He feels out of place," Kol replied honestly. "And I'm handling it fine, thanks for asking," he added sarcastically at her lack of concern for him.

"A hundred years is nothing compared to nine hundred years, so stop your complaining," she scolded him and slapped him on the arm.

"You are so violent!" he proclaimed and she let out a surprised scream when he suddenly had her by the waist and pulled her back flush against his chest. "I love it," he growled in her ear, nipping the lobe.

"Kol," she warned with her voice just above a whisper and she could feel her heartbeat racing at the sudden closeness of him and Kol smiled in delight when he heard her heart rate increase. He just loved the effect he had on her.

"You really need to loosen up," he said and rolled his eyes at her consistent apprehensiveness whenever he got too close her.

"I'm still not particularly comfortable around vampires," she revealed with a shrug after he released her from his hold.

"And I told you that I was going to change that," he responded, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear. He could tell that she wanted to smack his hand away from her but she refrained from doing so.

Kol's ears picked up at the sound of approaching sirens, too far away for the young witch to hear and he'd like to keep it that way for as long as possible. It took all of a second to scoop Bonnie up in his arms and take off in the direction of his home. He didn't exactly have anything planned; besides he liked spending time alone with her and no one would bother them there.

When they arrived at the front door of the Mikaelson mansion, Kol set Bonnie back on her feet but still kept a hold on her in case she fell.

"Where are we?" She asked and looked around in awe. Wherever she was, it was so extravagant, so beautiful.

"Home," he replied and opened the front door, motioning for her to walk ahead but she didn't move, only stared at him like he grew a second head.

"You brought me to your home?" she asked him in disbelief, "The home you share with your siblings and more importantly, Klaus who I have tried to kill on more than one occasion. I really don't think I should be here."

"Nik isn't even here," he lied. He could sense his brother inside the house. "And Finn couldn't care less, same for Elijah and Bekah still has a dagger in her heart," he took her hand and pulled her towards him then dropped his voice to a low and seductive tone, "and if Nik happens to return while you are still here, then I'll just have to protect you then won't I?"

"Could you even take on Klaus?" She questioned him with playful doubt in her voice.

"Of course I can," he replied without hesitation. Kol knew that Nik could hear him and after Bonnie left there would definitely be a demonstration of who could take who. He might not be able to kill Nik but he could certainly take him on in a fight.

The Original continued to gaze at her with one of his trademark puppy dog looks that had yet to fail him. Needless to say it wasn't long until she surrendered and walked inside the mansion, him following close behind.

"Whoa," she said in awe as she looked around the house. It was completely stunning.

"Yeah, that's Nik for you. Doesn't like anything less than extravagant," he replied with a bored tone. He was not particularly keen on this house, it was too ostentatious for his liking, besides was the ballroom sized foyer really necessary?

Bonnie opened her mouth to speak but froze when she saw Elijah coming down the stairs; she was kind of praying not to run into any of them.

"Ms Bennett," he greeted when he reached the bottom step, "what brings you here?" he asked, honestly surprised to see her here of all places.

"She's with me, Elijah," Kol answered before Bonnie could even open her mouth, surprising both her and Elijah at the almost possessive tone in his voice.

Elijah stared at Kol in amusement and wondered if his brother actually believed that he had enough an interest in Bonnie to try and take her away from him. He shook his head and without another word he left the two in peace to speak with Klaus in the next room.

"What exactly are we doing here anyway?" She asked Kol when Elijah walked away from them.

"I like being alone with you. You're different when you're on your own, less guarded and less uptight," he confessed and Bonnie's jaw dropped.

"Uptight? You think I'm uptight?" She asked slightly offended.

"Yeah, you kind of are," he responded.

"Well I think I have every right to be with what I've had to put up with," she defended herself and placed her hands on her hips.

"Relax, Bonnie," he smiled at the pout on her lips and threw his arm around her shoulder, leading her to the staircase.

"I can't believe you think I'm uptight," she mumbled as they walked up the stairs.

* * *

"She can be a little uptight at times, don't you agree?" Klaus asked when Elijah walked into the room. He'd overheard their entire conversation since they have arrived and he will be punching Kol in the face after Bonnie leaves. How could he possibly think that he could take him on?

"Have I missed something?" Elijah asked referring to his brother and the witch. He'd known that Kol had an interest in Bonnie but he hadn't expected for Bonnie to reciprocate the interest.

"Stranger things have happened," Klaus replied, going back to the book he was reading.

"Yes, but from my knowledge Bonnie doesn't have much of a tolerance for vampires and Kol is one of the worst," he stated and sat down in the chair across from his brother.

"What are you suggesting, Elijah?" Klaus questioned and set his book down. "That Bonnie is using Kol? What could she possibly gain from that, other than death? She's not that stupid."

"I hope for her sake that you are right, I'd hate to see what Kol would do to her if she is deceiving him," he replied leaning back into his chair. Elijah knew that Kol would not take too kindly to being played with. The last time someone had attempted to use him, they ended up murdering their own family under the compulsion of Kol and he made sure to keep them fully aware of their own actions while doing it.

* * *

Kol had lead Bonnie to his room and needless to say that when she discovered that the apprehensiveness returned.

"Don't be so nervous, Bonnie," he cooed into her ear as he stood behind her with his hands on her shoulders. "I'm not going to try anything if that is what you're worried about."

"It's not that," she mumbled. "I'd just set you on fire if you did."

"You need to come up with a new threat, that one is losing its effective," he said to her and moved to sit on his bed, back against the head board and he patted the space beside him.

Bonnie tentatively walked over and sat beside him of the large king sized bed. "I'll give you an aneurysm then."

"I saw how quickly you were draining when you did that to Klaus. Besides, it didn't hurt Klaus that much; I think he was just trying to make you feel strong," he told her and Bonnie's face dropped a little in discouragement.

"Well I guess I can appreciate the effort he put in then," she said with a laugh.

"He likes you, you know?" He stated to the witch

Bonnie lifted her head from the head board and stared at Kol with a puzzled look, "who, Klaus?" Kol nodded her head and Bonnie scoffed. "Yeah, I could tell by all the times he tried to kill me. He just made it so obvious," she said, playing along with what she believed to be a joke.

"Hey now, I'm his family and he stuck a dagger in my heart for a hundred years. Nik has a tendency to hurt the people he cares about."

"That's really sad," Bonnie noted, "But that doesn't prove that he likes me. Why are you telling me this anyway?" she asked and Kol shrugged his shoulders. "You're not trying to set me up with him, are you?" Bonnie narrowed her eyes at the vampire beside her in a teasing manner.

"Now why would I do that when I could have you all to myself?" he said and he moved closer to her in a way that caused Bonnie to bite her lip.

Bonnie's phone buzzed in her back pocket, breaking both supernaturals out of their staring completion. She pulled it out the I.D read 'Caroline."

"I should probably get this," she said to Kol and answered her friends call. "Hey Care," she greeted and moved to sit on the edge of the bed.

Kol let out an inaudible growl when Bonnie answered her friends call. Those things may be helpful but they were also damn annoying and went off at the worst possible time.

"Bonnie, Daniel's dead," Caroline told her with a weak voice.

Bonnie could feel her stomach drop and with her back to Kol she didn't see him mouth a string of curse words when Caroline had told her of Daniel. "Wh…what happened?" Bonnie asked with a shaky voice and she could feel the water well up.

"Mum said it was a robbery, his head was hit against his car and some things were taken," Caroline informed her and Bonnie let out a tiny whimper. Bonnie had known Daniel for her whole school life and he'd been nothing but nice and sweet to her. He wouldn't even harm a fly (off the football pitch anyway). How could someone be so cold?

Bonnie could feel Kol move from his spot on the bed to sit on his knees behind her and his head came down to rest on her shoulder to let her know that he was there for her.

"Bonnie, are you okay?" Caroline asked with concern. She knew that Bonnie considered Daniel to be a close friend.

"I'm…I'm fine. Thanks for telling me Care, I'll give you a call later, okay?" she hung up before her blonde friend could say anything else. "You heard all that?" Bonnie asked Kol who nodded into her neck.

"I'm sorry, Bonnie," he apologised, not so much for Daniel but more for the fact that Bonnie was upset. He lifted his head up from her shoulder, "Do you want me to get you anything? Water or something?" he offered and she shook her head and remained silent. "Come on, Bonnie, talk to me," he pleaded with the witch, not liking the silence

She couldn't wrap her head around the fact that Daniel was dead. One minute he was with her at the grill and the next he was gone…Kol had compelled him to leave and if he hadn't Daniel would still be alive right now. "I need to get out of here," she announced suddenly and quickly walked through the door, hoping she remembered the way back to the front door but she didn't get very far before Kol was in front of her, "leave me alone, Kol," she nearly growled and tried to side step around him but of course he didn't let her.

"Bonnie, what's the problem?" He tried to get her to stay still and to stop trying to get passed him but that proved to be a task. Whenever he tried to take a hold of her arms she would move them away.

"You compelled him to leave then he got killed! That's the problem. If you had just left me alone…" she didn't get a chance to finish.

"Okay, first of all I don't exactly recall you going after him and making sure he was okay and second of all, is that what you want, for me to leave you alone?" He asked her and when she didn't answer she felt his hand gently taking a hold of her chin, lifting so he could look her in the eye. "Is that what you want?" he repeated slowly, demanding an answer.

Yes.

"No."

His hand moved from her chin to her cheek, "Good, because I wasn't planning on leaving you alone."


	7. Falling Into Place

"Trouble in paradise already," Klaus snickered with a head shake after hearing the little quarrel that Bonnie and Kol just had. For [a moment](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/7/Fool_Me_One_Fool_Me_Twice) both Klaus and Kol feared that Bonnie had managed to put the pieces together and discovered their involvement in Daniel's death but luckily Kol put her theory to rest rather quickly.

"You wouldn't happen to have anything to do with that boy's death would you?" Elijah asked his brother suspiciously.

"Perhaps you should talk to Kol about that, Elijah," Klaus suggested, not looking up from the book he was still reading.

"I am talking to you about it, not Kol. So answer me Niklaus," he demanded with a stern expression.

Klaus once again put his book down, he'd never get through it at this rate, he thought before looking at his brother. "Kol had me kill him. He was getting too close to Bonnie for his liking."

"And you couldn't just compel him to stay away? You had to kill him?" Elijah questioned agitated by his brothers behaviour.

"You know how Kol is, Elijah, he doesn't like when someone plays with what he wants," he replied.

"We need to get him under control, we can't have him killing every man that looks Bonnie's way," Elijah stated. He had experienced just a tiny fraction of Kol's possessive behaviour earlier when he questioned Bonnie's presence and for admiring the fitting attire that the young witch wore. He could only imagine how Kol would react if another man made an attempt for young Bonnie's affection.

"I think we should test that theory don't you, Elijah?" Klaus asked with a sinister grin.

"What are you proposing, Klaus?"

"I'm proposing that we pick someone at random, compel them to pursue dear Bonnie and see how Kol reacts to it," he explained to his brother, dropping his voice to a low tone so Kol would not hear.

Sometimes Elijah questioned why Klaus told him anything at all…it's not like he listened. Klaus would still go through with his plan no matt what Elijah's thoughts were on the matter.

* * *

Kol had led Bonnie back to his room after their small confrontation in the hallway which no doubt his siblings had overheard but he didn't care, the only thing he even remotely cared about right now was the witch in his arms. Yes, in his arms. He and Bonnie were currently lying on his bed, his arm around her with her head on his chest. He honestly didn't know how they got in their currently position, one minute they were simply sitting on the bed and the next minute she began to cry over the death of her friend so he held her until she stopped, next thing he knew they were laying down. Not that he was complaining. Kol had never been one to [comfort](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/7/Fool_Me_One_Fool_Me_Twice) women (with the exception of Rebekah but that was different), or anyone for that matter but he didn't like to see Bonnie upset and just for a split second, he regretted having Daniel killed, but only for a second. He didn't care for the boy's life, but Bonnie did.

"Are you feeling any better?" he asked while lazily playing with her hair. He was under the impression that crying made humans feel better.

"I guess," she mumbled against the fabric of his shirt. "I'm sorry."

Kol furrowed his brow, not exactly sure what she was apologising for, "What for?"

"Blaming you," she responded, her finger tracing random patterns on his chest.

"Don't worry about it, as a vampire I'm used to having deaths blamed on me," he replied, enjoying the feeling of her fingers brushing against his chest.

"I guess I was just looking for a reason to stay away from you," she confessed to him and Kol groaned.

"Are we really going back to this, Bonnie? I thought I made it clear that I'm not going anywhere."

"No it's just… it's no secret that I have an intense dislike for vampires with the exception of Caroline and maybe the Salvatore's. I kind of enjoy being around you and it's that reason that I wanted to stay away from you and Daniel's death seemed like the easy option." She felt completely horrible for using Daniel's death to advance the plan, she just had to keep reminding herself that in the end it was all for the greater good. The world would be better off without Klaus in it.

Kol remained silent throughout her confession, her words sinking in. "Bonnie, look at me," he commanded and she complied. "I want to do something and I don't want you to get scared or freaked or nervous or anything… I'm not going to hurt you," he spoke to her and she just looked at him, confused and truth be told a little nervous, not sure what he was going to do but nodded her head anyway. "Close your eyes," he whispered, caressing her cheek. He watched as her eyes shut and moved his gaze down to her lips. Her beautiful, soft looking lips and he wasted no time in covering them with his own.

Bonnie's shot open at the sensation of his lips on her own; she certainly was not expecting that. His lips were warm and soft, not at all like she expected. She thought that kissing a vampire was like kissing death seeing as her only experience with kissing vampires was with Ben. She wasn't being overly responsive to the kiss, it wasn't that is was bad (quite the opposite actually) but more of the shock of what was happening was taking control.

"Close your eyes," he murmured against her lips.

The young witch closed her eyes and welcomed the kiss, becoming more responsive with her hands resting behind Kol's neck after he moved to hover over her, arms either side of her head as the kiss intensified. Their lips moved together in synchronicity and he nibbled gently on her bottom lip, eliciting a small moan from her. He soothed the tiny bites by running his tongue along her bottom lip before slipping his tongue inside her mouth.

When Bonnie suddenly pulled away Kol thought he'd done something wrong but when her head fell back against the pillow, exposing her delicate neck to him and breathing heavily, he realised that she needed air. "I forgot that you need to breathe," he murmured against the soft skin of her neck, placing a small kiss here and there, the sound of her heavy breathing music to his ears.

"Well, look at you two," Klaus' voice came from the doorway and Kol slowly turned his head with a deadly glint in his eyes as he stared at his brother.

"And if you want to continue being able to look, I suggest you leave before I gauge your eyes out," Kol threatened while keeping Bonnie out of Klaus' view as much as possible.

"Don't be mean, brother. Just enjoying the view," he replied and sent a wink in Bonnie's direction causing her to cower back into the pillow with her face full of embarrassment of being caught with Kol and by Klaus of all people.

"Leave, Nik," Kol growled. One more comment from his brother and he would send him flying off the balcony.

"Now, now Kol, no need to get testy, I'm only passing by. Lovely to see you again, Bonnie," he said before taking his leave.

Kol's head turned back to Bonnie once his brother left, his head nuzzling into her neck, "I apologise for him," he said and ran his nose along her neck, inhaling deeply and groaning lightly at how wonderful she smelt, like lavender and vanilla. "You smell so good," he whispered.

Bonnie did not reply she just weaved her fingers through his short hair and her eyes fluttered shut and she felt her breath catch in her throat when he ran his tongue up the length of her neck. This was so much better than her dream.

After a few more kisses Kol rolled off her, "if I don't stop now, I don't think I will stop at all," he whispered huskily. He usually had very good control when it came to this, but considering he has been in a coffin for over a century it has obviously been a while since he's kissed someone let alone engaged in the carnal pleasures (something he prided himself of being  _very_  good at) and with Bonnie…tempting little Bonnie, just the smallest of kisses proved to be a challenge in controlling his urges. The kisses alone causing an uncomfortable tightness in his pants

"I think I should go, Caroline is probably worried about me," Bonnie said after a few minutes of laying in silence. The blonde had texted her not too long after she rang telling Bonnie that the party had been cancelled due to Daniel's death and that she really wants to see her before the night is out.

"Walking out on me already? I didn't take you for that type of girl, Ms Bennett" Kol teased and watched her get up from the bed and straighten out her clothes. He let his mind wonder to what it might be like to be watching her put her clothes back on rather than just fixing them. The thought of watching her slide those skin tight jeans up those silky smooth legs after a night filled with pleasures that little Bonnie couldn't even imagine. Oh, the things he would do to her…the thought alone only increased the tightness in his pants. Maybe her leaving is a good thing, for now anyway.

"Are you coming with me?" Bonnie asked him ignoring his previous comment.

"With you, inside of you whatever you want, beautiful," Kol replied in a low, seductive voice and then received a pillow to the head.

"Don't be so vile," she mumbled with a blush. She definitely was not used to being spoken to like that and although she felt a little disgusted by the comment she couldn't help the feeling that was swelling in the pit of her stomach. Bonnie wasn't too experienced when it came to men or sex with her only real relationship being with Jeremy (and they never went further than kissing) but she wasn't naïve enough to not know what she was feeling. She wanted him and it terrified her.

* * *

Kol had Bonnie pressed against the wall of her house, one hand tangled in her hair while the other was laced with her own as their tongues battled intensely. Kol had dropped Bonnie at her house where one minute she was talking to him and the next he had pushed her against the wall and shoved his tongue down her throat in a fiery and untamed kiss.

"My cousin is inside," she managed to get out when he pulled his mouth away from hers for a split second to allow her to breathe before pressing them back together, this time a little less wild and uncontrollable and a little more gentle and tender. Releasing his grip on her hair and trailing it down to where her shoulder met her neck.

"And?" he challenged and smiled against her mouth. "I don't mind having an audience," he added taking her bottom lip between his teeth and biting hard enough to bring out a low moan from the beauty.

What the two didn't know was that they already had an audience. In the shadows lurked the two Salvatore brothers with matching smirks upon their faces. They were one step closer to bringing an end to the Originals.

* * *

It was Friday night and the resident hang out in Mystic Falls was completely packed. Bonnie, Elena and Caroline were currently occupying one of the pool tables along with Matt whenever he had a few minutes to spare. Neither girls were very good at the game but they enjoyed not getting the balls in the holes and when Caroline hit the ball too hard with her vampire strength sending it flying off the table it sent the three girls into loud fits of laughter that was nearly able the be heard over the music of the live band.

None of the three girls noticed the four Original brothers walking in as they continued to play their game of pool which nearly resulted in Caroline snapping the pool cure with frustration. "This game is stupid," the blonde declared after yet another failed attempt of putting the ball in the hole.

Bonnie turned when she could feel a pair of eyes practically burning into the back of her head and with no surprise to her, it was Kol. When she turned to look at him he winked and raised his glass to her to which Bonnie responded back with a bright smile but of course the little display did not go unnoticed by Caroline.

"What the hell was that?" Caroline demanded.

"What was what?" Bonnie asked looking at Caroline.

"The whole…" she mimicked Kol's action then Bonnie's smile, "between you and mini Elijah over there," she finished.

"Mini Elijah?" Bonnie repeated and raised an eye brow at the ridiculous nickname.

"Yeah he looks like a younger Elijah but that's not the point here!" Caroline explained before turning serious again. "The point it you just sent him your sex smile which is weird considering who and what he is."

"Nothing is going on, Caroline," she tried to convince her bubbly blonde friend. "I'm just trying to be nice; we're obviously not going to be getting rid of them anytime soon and seriously, Caroline? Not only is he a vampire but he is an Original. I think that says enough," she said with a tone of distaste that she wasn't entirely sure if she meant or not.

The two girls did not seem completely convinced but let it go nonetheless, trying to make the most of their night. When her two friends went back to the game Bonnie snuck another glance at Kol who had obviously overheard the conversation because he didn't look exactly happy. They locked eyes and Bonnie gestured him to follow her before she turned back to her friends.

"Hey, I got to make a call to my dad, I'll be back soon," she told them and grabbed her coat and making her way outside the grill.

When she got outside she crossed the road and sat on one of the benches and waited for Kol to come out.

"Come on, Kol," she mumbled impatiently. Minuets had passed and Kol had yet to come outside.

"Patience is a virtue, love." His sudden reply caused her to jump with surprised and she looked to her other side

"Where'd you come from?" She questioned when he sat down beside her.

"I left through the back, I thought it would be less conspicuous considering you obviously do not want your friends to know about us," he replied bitterly.

"Well you saw how Caroline reacted earlier," she tried to defend herself. "Imagine that magnified by ten and then you'd have her reaction if she knew," she stated.

"Explain to me why it is okay for the doppelganger to be with a vampire or two but it's not alright for you?" He questioned getting frustrated by her stubbornness.

"Her name is Elena," Bonnie corrected him.

"I don't care what her name is and I don't care what the blonde thinks. You're the only one that matters," he replied and placed a hand on her knee.

"How can you say that? You barely know me."

"I know enough. I know your favourite colour is green, I know you want to visit Monaco, you're close to your dad and hate that his girlfriend is taking him away from you and…"

"Okay, that's enough," Bonnie interrupted him before he could add anymore. "So you do know a bit about me but that still doesn't change the fact that you've only just met me. How can I matter to you?"

"I'm sure that you're aware that as a vampire everything is heightened. We fall victim to our emotions a lot quicker than humans," he started to explain before getting up from the bench and pulling Bonnie with him, keeping her pressed against him with his hands on her hips. "From the moment I saw you I wanted you and when you fought back against Nik, my mind was set. I just  **had**  to have you," he said in a voice that made her knees go weak. Kol's forehead came down to rest gently upon her own and her hands trailed up his arms and came to a stop at his biceps. "Am I any closer?" he whispered.

"Closer to what?" Bonnie asked with a confused expression.

"Having you," he answered, moving his hands in a sensual circular motion on her hips.

Bonnie wasn't sure on how to reply to that and luckily she didn't have too on behalf of being ripped from Kol's embrace.

"Stay the hell away from her," Damon's voiced seethed viciously from behind her before taking a protective stance in front of her.

Bonnie was confused as all hell as to what Damon was doing right now; he was ruining his own plan for Christs sake! She peeked over his shoulder to glance at Kol who looked positively pissed off at the intrusion and if she wasn't mistaken, he was growling too. Feeling another hand on her shoulder she snapped around and saw Lucy behind her.

Damon back away slowly, holding Bonnie too him and leading her back to the grill and away from Kol who was now definitely growling and obviously restraining himself from tearing the older Salvatore apart.

"What the hell were you thinking, Bonnie?" Damon exclaimed he continued to pull her along with Lucy trailing behind them.

"I-

"He's an Original for fucks sake. He's the enemy!"

All Bonnie wanted to do was scream what the hell was going on but Damon wasn't letting her get a word in edge wise.

"How could you be so stupid?" He got out as he opened the door to the grill and pushed her inside and once inside his whole demeanour changed. He changed from being tense and pissed to his normal annoying self. "Nice work, Bonnie," he said lowly so Kol or the Originals who still sat at the bar could not hear.

"What the hell was that?" Bonnie questioned still annoyed and confused by his performance.

"I was just provoking him a little," he replied with a shrug.

"You're lucky he didn't attack you," Bonnie mumbled, still annoyed by the actions of Damon and Lucy.

"He couldn't, I threw up a barrier. It should be still holding," Lucy explained.

"On a lighter note, you seem to be doing pretty well," he commented and stole a drink from a passing person.

"I really don't feel like talking about this. Not with him being outside and with them being over there. Talk tomorrow?"

"Fair enough, I'll swing by your place tomorrow," he replied and handed her his now empty glass and walking towards the bar.

"Why did he do that and is he drunk?" Bonnie questioned Lucy once Damon walked away.

"He wanted to fuel the fire. He figures that telling Kol to stay away from you will only make him want you more and yes he is kind of drunk."

Bonnie sighed, "I have this under control," she told her cousin.

"I know you do, B, we just want to help as much as we can. This can't be easy for you."

"It's not but it has to be done and once it is we can finally get on with our lives," Bonnie replied with a forced smile and looked over Lucy's shoulder at her two friends. "I better get back to Caroline and Elena before they come over here and drag me back."

"Alright. Let me know when you want to head home," she said and gave her cousin a small hug before looking for a hopeful companion for the night.

* * *

"Now brothers, help me find the perfect candidate for my theory," Klaus said after Kol left to follow Bonnie outside.

"What theory is that?" Finn asked with caution. He was sure he did not want to know what his brother meant.

"Klaus is interested to know if Kol will kill any man that tries gain the affection of Bonnie," Elijah explained to his brother while Klaus continued to eye the crowd and Finn was repulsed by his brother's intention.

"They are human being's Niklaus. Not toys for you play with as you please," Finn said to his brother with a tone filled with disgust. Klaus was the reason that Finn had never embraced his true vampire nature and he had no intention of doing so, ever. He would be damned if he were to ever end up like his brother.

Klaus ignored his brother's comments and continued to scan the patrons of the grill for the perfect choice. "Gentlemen, I believe we have a winner," Klaus smirked while eyeing a boy that approached the doppelganger and the baby vampire who he seemed to be familiar with. Klaus waited til the boy made his way to the bar to order something and Klaus grabbed his arm, turning him to face him.

"What the fuck, dude?" the guy called out over the loud music.

Klaus shook his head at the term 'dude'. The youth these days….

"Do you know Bonnie Bennett?" Klaus asked the man.

"Yeah I do, why?"

"Excellent, now here is what I want you to do…" he stared into the boys eyes and his pupils dilated as he compelled him a list of instructions that brought the repulsed look back to Finn's face while Elijah had his usual look of indifference.

Just as Klaus shooed the boy off, Bonnie came back into the grill with Damon and a women he had never seen before and were sharing some hushed words, he strained to hear them but they were speaking too low and with the loud background music, hearing them was pretty impossible. Klaus watched as Damon left the two females and headed to the bar, coming to a stop on front of him.

"Evening, Damon," Klaus greeted. "Care for a drink?"

"I don't know what your brother's intentions are with Bonnie but keep him the hell away from her," he growled getting right in Klaus' face.

"I haven't the faintest clue of what you are talking about, Damon, but I assure I will have a word with my brother as soon as he gets in," Klaus replied.

"You do that," he growled out one last time before stalking off.

"Does he honestly believe that he is intimidating?" Klaus asked his brothers when Damon left them. He really hoped not because he is just embarrassing himself if he believes he is.

Ten minutes later, Kol came tearing back into the grill, "Where is the Salvatore?" Kol demanded.

"What took you so long?" Klaus asked amused.

"That witch who I assume is Bonnie's cousin used some barrier spell, preventing me from getting to him. Where is he?" he replied, extremely frustrated and itching to kill something.

Bennett witches, Klaus mused.

"Oh, I don't believe he is your main concern tonight, brother," Klaus smirked and pointed him in the direction of Bonnie who was currently being pursued by the boy he compelled earlier. Klaus enjoyed watching Kol's expression change from irritated to down right murderous. "Shall I be killing this one for you too?" Klaus asked.

"I believe I will be taking care of this one myself," Kol declared after witnessing the boy 'teaching' Bonnie how to properly play pool by leaning over her bent form. A million different painful ways to kill the simpleton flashed through Kol's mind and it would certainly be a difficult choice…


	8. Attitude

"You're getting better!" Lucas commented when Bonnie pouted after missing yet another shot. "You nearly got it in this time."

Lucas had graduated from the high school the previous year. He had always been the playboy type guy, flirting with everything that didn't have a penis but he was harmless so none of the three girls took his flirting attempts and comments seriously.

Needless the say, Kol didn't see it that way. All he saw was some dick (who obviously had a death wish) trying to gain the affection of his witch.

Kol was seething while he watched Bonnie being flirted up by some random guy and what was worse was that she was responding to him. He was pissed. He had pretty much implied that he had…what could be classified as feelings for her and this is how she replies to that? He wanted an explanation so when he saw Bonnie excuse herself from her friends and make her way to the restrooms, he followed her.

He threw [open](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/8/Fool_Me_One_Fool_Me_Twice) the restroom door and it slammed against the wall and startled Bonnie who was standing in front of the mirror.

"Did you not see the sign on [the door](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/8/Fool_Me_One_Fool_Me_Twice); you know the little stick figure with the dress and the title 'women' under it?" Bonnie questioned sarcastically. "Well that usually means women only."

"What the hell is that out there?" he asked her and when she put on a confused face he nearly lost it. He zipped over to her and trapped her against the restroom counter. "I practically declare that I have feelings for you and here you are flirting with some guy."

"Jealous?" Bonnie questioned with a playful pout.

"Now is really not a good time to play with me, Bonnie," he nearly growled.

Bonnie rolled her eyes at his attitude before explaining. "Lucas graduated from our school two years ago. He'll flirt with anything that doesn't have a dick so no one takes his advances and comments seriously and I certainly don't," Bonnie assured the vampire. "He's harmless."

"He tried to kiss you," he countered with an inaudible growl.

"That was just your jealous imagination making something out of nothing."

"Stop saying I'm jealous!"

"Stop acting like you are!"

Without another [word](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/8/Fool_Me_One_Fool_Me_Twice), Kol quickly grasped the back of Bonnie's thighs and hoisted her onto the counter and crushed his lips to hers. His hands moved up to cup her face as his lips moved desperately against hers then used his tongue to part her lips. Bonnie placed her hands on Kol's shoulders, nails digging in and legs tightening around him and let out a loud moan when he began to grind himself against her jean clad core. The Original let out a groan, moving his hands back down to her waist to pull her even closer to him, she felt so good pressed up against him. Too bad it couldn't last longer.

"Oh, my God!" Caroline exclaimed from the doorway of the restroom, mouth wide agape with shock written all over her face.

"Caroline!" Bonnie replied and pulled her mouth away from Kol's with an equally shocked expression.

Kol obviously didn't give a damn about being caught; once Bonnie broke their kiss he brought is head down and continued to trail kisses up and down her neck. He wasn't going to let some annoying blonde twit with nothing but air in her head ruin his fun.

Caroline still stood in the doorway with wide eyes wondering what the hell she was witnessing, her best friend Bonnie, with the murderous Original vampire Kol? She had to be drunk or compelled or something, Bonnie would never do something like that with someone like Kol.

The witch finally managed to push Kol off and told him to leave and he reluctantly complied, sending the blonde a vicious glare and a growl on his way out and as soon as the door closed behind him he heard her go off.

"What the hell was that, Bonnie!"

Kol shook his head at the blonde's outburst, Bonnie needed new friends.

* * *

Bonnie was still sitting upon the counter, legs swinging back and forth as she kept her gaze on the bathroom floor, avoiding all possible eye contact with her best friend. How in the world was she going to explain this to Caroline? She obviously couldn't tell her the real plan, Damon and Stefan would chuck an absolute fit if she did and no doubt that Caroline would end up telling Elena which would ruin the whole entire plan. No offence to Elena, Bonnie loved her best friend to death, but she didn't have the best track record when it came to plans.

"Are you going to tell me what is going on or are you just going to sit there?" She asked her with her hands on her hips and with an expecting expression on her face. Caroline's tone and stance made Bonnie feel like she was a small child being scolded by her mother.

"We're…just having some fun," she told her blonde friend with a bored shrug. The witch really didn't know what to say, she didn't really want to say that she and Kol were together (not that they were) and Bonnie could only hope that Caroline would accept that Bonnie had decided to let loose a little with a dangerous Original vampire.

"You're just having some fun?" Caroline mocked her friends excuse with slight disbelief. "You were having some heated make out session with an Original vampire!" she exclaimed.

"What do you want me to say, Caroline?" Bonnie shot out. Her friend's attitude was beginning to get slightly irritating.

"Tell me why the hell you were making out with him."

"Why is this such a problem for you?" The witch spat.

"Because you don't do things like this with people like him," Caroline replied and dropped her arms back down to rest at her sides.

All Bonnie's response to that was a glare as she stormed out of the girl's bathroom. Bonnie realised that her attitude was uncalled for (and rather childish) and shouldn't be directed at her blonde friend but she hated the feeling that Caroline was telling her what she should and shouldn't be doing and scolding her for doing something wrong. She was her best friend, not her mother (not that Bonnie's mother was even around to scold her).

The young witch wasn't in much of a mood to stay at the Grill after her confrontation with Caroline and thankfully, Elena wasn't at the pool table at the moment so Bonnie quickly grabbed her coat and made her way to leave the Grill.

As Bonnie was buttoning her coat she could hear a small noise coming from the alley behind the Grill. She strained to hear it as she tentatively moved towards the sound. The closer she got the clearer it became, it sounded like groans of pain. The witch's pace quickened as she moved towards the severely injured person. She dropped down beside them man and struggled a little bit to turn him over and when she did, she let out a loud gasp.

It was Lucas.


	9. The Beginning or the End?

Bonnie let out a chocked sob once she turned Lucas over; blood was covering his face pouring out from a large gash on his forehead. The young girl knew he was still alive from the pained sounds he was making, but she wasn't sure how much longer he had left. She pulled out her cell and quickly dialled for an ambulance while cradling his bleeding head in her lap. Bonnie waited desperately for them to pick up, the sight and stench of the fresh blood making her feel ill but she held it [back](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/9/Fool_Me_One_Fool_Me_Twice).

When they picked up Bonnie's voice came out in a rushed panic as she tried to wipe some of the blood from his eyes with her coat sleeve. She told the person on the other line what was happening and told them where she was before dialling Matt's number, praying that he would pick up.

"Hello?"

"Matty, you need to come outside. Lucas is hurt real bad," she rushed out. "There's blood," she nearly whimpered as the blood soaked through her coat sleeve. Bonnie was never very good around large amounts of blood.

It wasn't long before Matt had sprinted out of the Grill and dropped down besides Bonnie with a heap of towels in his hand.

"Oh, shit," he cursed when he witnessed the scene before him. "Have you called the-

"Yes," Bonnie replied before he could finish. "They should be here soon," she added as calmly a she could, but the shakiness was evident in her voice.

"What the hell happened?" He asked as he put a towel to the bleeding gash on Lucas's head.

Bonnie shook her head, "I don't know. I was heading to my [car](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/9/Fool_Me_One_Fool_Me_Twice) when I heard someone groaning in the alley."

They both let out a sigh of relief when they heard the sound of sirens approaching, maybe Lucas would make it.

Once the ambulance arrived, they jumped out of a vehicle and put Lucas on a stretcher, being as careful as possible not to hurt him anymore then he already was while one was questioning Bonnie and Matt about what had happened, not that they were much help.

Once the ambulance took Lucas away, Matt quickly ran back into the Grill to tell the [manager](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/9/Fool_Me_One_Fool_Me_Twice) what the hell was going on before meeting Bonnie at the hospital.

* * *

"So he's going to be okay?" Elena asked from the other end of the [phone](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/9/Fool_Me_One_Fool_Me_Twice).

"That's what they said. He's still unconscious but he is stable. They were more worried about the internal bleeding than the head wound." Bonnie answered her as she unlocked her[front door](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/9/Fool_Me_One_Fool_Me_Twice).

"And how are you doing?" Elena asked softly.

"I'm fine. Can't wait to change out of this bloody shirt but I'm fine," she reassured her friend.

Elena was silent for a few moments and Bonnie knew what was coming. Caroline had told Elena about her and Kol in the bathroom.

"Listen, Care-

Bonnie cut her off. "Can we talk about this some other time, Lena?" Bonnie pleaded.

"Sure. But please tell me, Bonnie."

"Of course I will. I'll talk to you later okay?"

"Okay."

The two friends said their goodbyes before hanging up.

Bonnie dropped her belonging on the couch then practically ran into the bathroom. She peeled off her blood stained shirt and jeans and jumped into the shower.

She and Matt had been at the hospital for over an hour before they knew what was going on. Lucas had a head wound that wasn't as severe as originally thought but the internal bleeding was the main concern. Whoever had gotten a hold of Lucas gave him a brutal beating and it only fuelled her thoughts of the attacker being Kol.

It made sense. Kol was jealous of Lucas and she knew that a jealous vampire was a dangerous vampire. She had to talk to him.

* * *

Kol was at the front door of Bonnie's house within fifteen minutes of her calling him. He had high hopes to finish what they started in the bathroom of The Grill but when the door opened his smile dropped he noticed she's been crying. His automatic response was to reach out and touch her face but stopped once realising his hand could not pass through the invisible wall that blocked him from her so he had to settle for a simple, "what's wrong?"

"Please come out here," he pleaded lightly. He knew she wasn't ready to invite him in and he understood that but he just wanted to have her near him.

She was still for a moment before she took a single step over the threshold and he had her in his arms immediately. "What's wrong?" he repeated and rested his chin on top of her head.

Bonnie's arms stayed limp at her sides and said nothing as Kol held her to him. The Original let out a sigh and released her but still kept her close. "Please don't make me ask again, Bonnie." Kol hated repeating himself; usually he'd start using force to get his answer if he had to ask more than twice.

"Did you hear?" her voice was very soft. He may not have caught what she said if not for his enhanced hearing.

"Did I hear what, beautiful?" he questioned, stroking his hand up and down her exposed arm slowly.

"Lucas," was all she said. She pulled her arm away from Kol and folded them over her chest.

Kol knew exactly was she was talking about. Kol honestly was not going to do anything to him but the little asshole followed him when he left the Grill and began to 'talk' to him about Bonnie and the Original did not appreciate what came out of that humans mouth. It was just a pity that Bonnie came out of the Grill a few minutes too soon as he never got to finish what he started. Hopefully he did enough damage for it to be considered fatal.

"The boy that was all over you this evening? What about him?" Kol replied in a bored tone as if he had nothing to hide.

"Well, he's in the hospital with serious injuries and it's a little coincidental that this happens to him after you get pissed about him being too close to me."

"And of course you think I did it. Unbelievable," he replied and turned his head away from her in slight frustration. Yes, Kol may have caused the injuries but that didn't give her the right to accuse him whenever a dead or seriously injured body shows up.

"What am I supposed to think given the circumstances?" Bonnie asked and unfolded her arms letting them fall to her sides.

"Do you really want to repeat the conversation we had the other day? The one about the death of your other friend, you know, the one you also blamed me for?"

Bonnie said nothing; she just kept her eyes on her feet.

"What would I gain from killing these boys?" he questioned in a softer tone. "I would never let something as petty as jealously ruin what I could have with you and we could have something really special," he brought his hand to her face, raising her head to lock her in an intense stare. "You can't deny that we have something," he whispered and pushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

"I want to clear something up right now, Bonnie. I'm tired of chasing you. I want you. I want to fully explore what we could have because I know it will be something amazing."

While he was talking Kol had pulled her closer to him. He had one arm wrapped around her waist, their bodies lightly touching while the other was on her cheek. "And I know you think you're not ready for that but you are."

"Kol," Bonnie whined and tried to pull away but he didn't let her.

"No, just listen to me," he said, giving a smile at her little whine. "I have an offer for you. I'm going to –as they say these days- put the ball in your court. I am going to back away, give you space and when you decide that you do want to explore things between us…you come and find me but don't think that you can get away with not answering me. I am not a patient man, Bonnie and if I don't have some sort of answer within a week I will be revoking my offer. Okay?"

When she nodded in agreement he bent his head down to capture her lips in a quick kiss. "One week," he repeated against her lips before turning to leave. On his way home he could not help but praise himself on his abilities of swaying a conversation to his favour, not to mention his impeccable lying skills.

* * *

Bonnie watched Kol's retreating form from her porch before going back inside the warmth of her home, resting against the now closed front door and she let out a loud sigh.

What the hell had she gotten herself into?

* * *

Kol was greeted by Klaus as soon as he stepped foot in the mansion.

"What do you want, Nik?" he questioned, a little agitated by his older brothers presence.

"How did your evening with Miss Bennett go?" Klaus asked with a smile and followed his brother who had not stopped since he came through the door.

"Just fine, Nik," he replied and made his way into the study, feeling the need for a drink.

"And what exactly did she want at this late hour?" Klaus asked and took the newly poured drink from his younger brother's hand and taking a swig.

Kol growled at his brothers annoying actions before pouring himself another drink.

"A friend of hers is in the hospital," he shrugged before downing his drink and getting another one.

"And she blamed you?" Klaus raised his brow.

Kol nodded and smirked, "she did until I persuaded her otherwise."

"So you are the reason the human is in the hospital?"

Kol narrowed his eyes at his brother's interest in the human, "what did you do, Niklaus?"

Klaus let out a fake exasperated sigh, "well, brother if you must know I shall tell you. Elijah and I were curious to see how you would react to another male trying to gain the affections of darling Bonnie. When you and Bonnie left to speak outside I compelled that boy to flirt with Bonnie and then to speak of Bonnie in a sexual nature until you snapped. Nothing really," Klaus informed his brother with a bored shrug.

"You compelled him to aggravate me?" Kol raised his voice at his brother.

"What's the big deal?" Klaus asked, rolling his eyes at Kol.

"I nearly lost Bonnie tonight because of that. She had good reasons to think I was the one that did it. She knew I was jealous!" Kol seethed getting in Klaus' face.

"What are you trying to say, brother?"

"I recall you telling me that you wanted Bonnie to be a part of this messed up family and because of the little stunt you pulled today I – we, nearly lost her. And we still can. So you fix this."

"And how do you propose I do that?"

"The boy, Lucas, he would have seen me attack him and he'll tell Bonnie when he gains consciousness so kill him or compel him I really couldn't care less but you fix it, Niklaus," Kol growled one last time at his brother before storming out of the study.

* * *

"You did what!" Stefan exclaimed the next day when Bonnie had told them what had happened the previous night between her and Kol. "You blamed him for putting Lucas in the hospital?"

"I know he did it, Stefan. I'm not an idiot," Bonnie stood her ground against the younger Salvatore.

Stefan put his hand on his forehead, trying to stay calm and not think about how their plan is crumbling right in front of them because of the witch's strong morals. "Look Bonnie, we get it, we really do. You don't want spend most of your time pretending to love a psycho killer but the sooner you do this the sooner it will all go away for good," he tried to convince her and calm her down.

"He's right, Bonnie," Damon spoke up. "The sooner it happens the sooner it will be over."

"You just need to stop blaming him for every death that happens even if he is involved. Don't piss him off too much. But overall, just make it believable," Stefan advised.

Damon came up beside her and put an arm around her shoulders, "enjoy your last few hours freedom, little witch. This afternoon, you will officially the girlfriend of Kol Mikaelson," Damon mocked with a stifled laugh earning him a short but still painful brain aneurysm.

"I'm going to be with Lucy tomorrow trying to figure out how to open that damn coffin," Bonnie mumbled as she gathered her grimoire and bag.

"Let us know how that goes!" Damon called out as Bonnie made her way to leave.

Bonnie grumbled when she got in her car. She didn't want to do what she was about to do.

* * *

Bonnie pulled up to the Mikaelson mansion and she sat in her car trying to get her nerves under control. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself before she got out of the car and walked to the front door pressing the button causing a loud bell to echo throughout the large house.

She waited at the front door for what seemed to be an eternity until it opened and revealed Elijah standing in the door way.

"Miss Bennett, to what do we owe the pleasure?" He greeted in his usual manner.

"Is Kol here?" she asked, for once feeling a little intimidated by the Original standing before her.

Elijah studied Bonnie for a moment, making Bonnie shift under his gaze before he stood aside and motioned for her to come in. "You remember where his room is?"

Bonnie nodded her head, "I think so. Thanks, Elijah," she thanked politely and headed to the stairs.

She used the time it took to climb the never ending stair case to try to prepare herself of what she was going to say to Kol, unfortunately, the stair case ended before she came up with anything. Bonnie walked down the hall a little further, the only sound being the clicking of her heeled boots on the marble floor and probably her heartbeat to the resident vampires.

"I'm hoping the pounding of your heart is a good sign of your visit," Kol's voice came from behind her. Bonnie snapped around to face the youngest male Original. "You already passed my room."

"Oh," Bonnie mumbled and blushed a little at being caught so out of it.

Kol took a hold of her hand and led her to his room, "so is your rapid heartbeat a good sign?" he asked again.

Bonnie didn't really know what to do. This was such an odd position for her to be in. How was she just supposed to start a relationship where it's real for one but not for the other? There wasn't a doubt in her mind that Kol was evil, hat he deserved anything he got but could she really go through with this?

"Are you with me, Bonnie?"

"Huh?" she snapped out of her thoughts when Kol waved his hand in front of her face, "oh, sorry what?"

Kol let out a throaty chuckle, "you are adorable," he said and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Why are you here, beautiful?" Kol asked as he sat on the edge of his bed.

Bonnie looked at him as Stefan's voice rang through her ears.

_Make it believable_

She walked over and stood in front of Kol's sitting form. His bed was tall enough and she was short enough that she only had to lean down a little bit to press her lips against his. Kol's hands instantly went to her hips and pulled her down so she was straddling his lap. He entangled one of his hands in her hair and forced her mouth open with his tongue. Bonnie let out a tiny moan when his tongue danced with hers. Kol used his arm that now around her waist to bring her even closer to him. Bonnie certainly could not deny that he was a fantastic kisser.

"You didn't take as long as I thought you would," he mumbled in-between the hot kisses he was placing all around her neck and collar bone. "I thought for sure I'd have to track you down by the end of the week. This is a lovely surprise."

Bonnie let out a surprised squeak when Kol suddenly flipped them over on the bed so he was on top of her and her legs were wrapped around his waist. "Do you see that we have something?" Kol's husky voice whispered heavily into her ear at the same time he ground his hips into her causing her to cry out. "We are going to be so amazing together, beautiful."

* * *

Bonnie strode into the cave where Lucy and the unknown inhabitant of the coffin waited.

"We are not talking about Kol," Bonnie announced as soon as Lucy opened her mouth. "I just want to get this damned thing open."

"Well, lucky for you I wasn't going to talk about Kol but rather this," Lucy said and held out a grimoire for Bonnie to take.

"What's this?" Bonnie asked curiously and took the old book from her cousin.

"That…belonged to your mother. I figured since we are at a loss for what to do, why not go through the grimoire that Abby used to put down Mikael."

"What…what happened to my mother?" Bonnie asked Lucy softly.

Lucy's tough exterior dropped for a moment before it went back up. "She died after performing the spell. It was such a powerful and draining spell. I was really close with your mother and I could never find it in me to look through her grimoire, too many memories….But know I think it could be the only useful thing to do right now so let's have a look shall we?"

Lucy and Bonnie sat on the dirty cavern floor as they flicked through her mother's grimoire, trying to find any spell that could be of use to them.

"Whoa, wait…what's that?" Bonnie asked and flicked back a page.

"What's what?"

"That." Bonnie pointed at the page where there was some kind of knot design drawn on the old paper.

Lucy was looking at the page, so deep in thought that Bonnie jumped when she spoke up. "That's it! That's the one."

"What is it?"

"If I'm right, it's kind of like a bond. Like a spell that can only be performed by witches of the same bloodlines," Lucy tried to explain to her younger cousin.

"So if we try this spell, it could open the coffin?" Bonnie questioned hopefully.

"I don't know for sure but it's worth a try. Come on."

Lucy and Bonnie stood up and went over to the coffin, standing either side of the wooden box. The two Bennett witches linked hands before they began to chant the spell.

" _Phasmatos Tribum, Melon Veras, Et Vasa Quisa, Exu Quisa"_

The two witches continued to chant, each time the spell growing stronger and the candles that had been placed all over the cave had turned into large flames then the flames returned to their regular size when the spell was done.

"Did it work?" Bonnie questioned.

"Let's find out," Lucy answered before attempting to lift the lid of the coffin, her eyes widening when it budged. "It worked!"

"I'll go ring Damon," Bonnie said and started to leave the cave to ring the elder Salvatore.

As soon as she was in an area with signal she dialled Damon's number.

"We did it. It's open," she said before he even got a chance to say 'hello'.

"We'll be right there," he answered before hanging up.

There was no small talk between Damon and Bonnie when it was business.

The younger Bennett made her way back into the cave, "they're on their way – oh my god…Lucy!" Bonnie raced over to her cousin who was unconscious on the floor. Bonnie tried to shake her awake but nothing. She looked around the cave and her heart stopped when she saw the wide open coffin. Bonnie stood up and very slowly made her way to the coffin and sharply turned around when she heard a faint scratching noise coming from behind her.

When she turned around, everything went black.


	10. This Can't End Well

Damon walked into Stefan's room as soon as he got off the phone with Bonnie. "Cousin witches finally managed to [open](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/10/Fool_Me_One_Fool_Me_Twice) the coffin."

Stefan perked up at the [information](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/10/Fool_Me_One_Fool_Me_Twice), "what was in it?"

The elder brother just shrugged his shoulders, "she didn't say. Just said she and Lucy got it open."

The Salvatore brothers shared some more words as they left their home and made their way to the cave they had hidden the coffin in.

"Bonnie!" Damon called out as they entered the cave. The brothers shared a look of concern at the lack of response and quickened their pace until they reached end of the cave where the coffin was hidden, the part where no vampire can [enter](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/10/Fool_Me_One_Fool_Me_Twice). "Oh god," Damon muttered as he looked around. The coffin was wide open and both Bonnie and Lucy were on the ground, unconscious.

"Whatever was in that coffin attacked them," Stefan said from behind him.

"Way to point out the obvious, Stef," Damon replied with an eye roll. "Call Alaric, he's going to have to get them out."

* * *

Alaric had gotten to the cave as soon as he could after getting the call from Stefan. He had passed a still unconscious Bonnie to Damon and passed Lucy to Stefan while he gathered up the few Grimoires and other magical items that scattered throughout the cave.

"What the hell was in that?" Alaric questioned, his voice was a mix of concern for the two Bennett witches and worry for what was currently running around Mystic Falls.

"Something that can hopefully kill Klaus," Damon replied.

"How can we be so sure that whatever was in there won't come after us?" Alaric asked his vampire friend as the three of them began to make their way out of the cave.

"We kill it after it kills Klaus and the Originals," Damon said simply.

His reply earned an eye roll from the vampire hunter, "is that your solution to everything? Kill it?"

"It's gotten me this far," was all Damon said before affectionately glancing at the witch he was carrying in his arms.

Alaric could not help but let a tiny smile grace his face as he witnessed the scene. Bonnie and Damon had a bit of a weird [relationship](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/10/Fool_Me_One_Fool_Me_Twice) and if not for Elena, Alaric was sure that it would be Bonnie for Damon.

* * *

Klaus was sitting in his private study room, sketch pad on his lap as he continued to put the finishing touches on his [latest](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/10/Fool_Me_One_Fool_Me_Twice) piece of art. It had been a peaceful at the Mikaelson mansion, Finn had been brooding away in his room as usual, Elijah had been out all day, probably stalking the doppelganger and Kol had been rather cheerful and slightly less annoying since his visit from Bonnie last night. Klaus could only assume that everything was going well between his brother and the witch.

To keep his brother in his good mood, Klaus had gone down to the hospital very early this morning to compel the human that he had earlier compelled to provoke Kol into killing him to forget anything he may have remembered about the attack which had only brightened his younger brothers mood significantly.

But his reasons for doing so weren't all for his brother's gain. Klaus meant what he said when he told Kol he wanted Bonnie to be a part of their family. Bonnie reminded him so much of Ayanna, the Bennett witch that had been best friends with his mother a thousand years ago, they were/are both strong willed, moral and stood for what they believed in. Klaus was close with Ayanna; she was more of a mother to him than Esther was. He wanted things to be like how they were back when he and his family were human. Although, some things were strained between them, it was a happier time. He only realised that after many hundred years of loneliness and now that Mikael was dead there was no reason to why he and his siblings could not move on with their lives and of course in due time he shall raise Rebekah from her neutralised state, but only after he explains to his siblings what had truly happened to their mother. They would be furious with him, Finn especially, but he believed that they would come around eventually.

Or maybe he wouldn't have to.

He knew the coffin that contained his mother was in the possession of Bonnie and her cousin who were trying relentlessly to open it. He could only hope that their attempts would fail. If Esther was released, it would surely be the end of him.

And that moment came all too soon as a familiar voice greeted from behind him, "Good evening, Niklaus,"

He could feel his face pale from colour and his un-dead heart dropped into his stomach. For the first time in a very long time, he felt genuine fear coursing through him. He'd almost forgotten what that felt like to be that frightened.

Klaus took a deep breath and willed himself to stand from his seat and turn to face his mother.

She stood tall before him, long blonde hair flowing and still dressed in the very same clothes Rebekah had dressed her in after she had been murdered…by his own hands. Klaus studied the expression on his mother's face; there was nothing there, nothing that he could comprehend anyway.

"Mother," his voice shook a little as he spoke and he wanted to murder himself for not only feeling weak and fearful but for showing it, too.

The feelings flowing through him only intensified when she had begun to make her way to him in slow, powerful steps. She stopped when she was a foot in front of him and he felt himself revert back to the young, scared little boy he once was and stared at the ground, never meeting her eyes.

"Look at me, Niklaus," she demanded.

Klaus complied with his mother's wishes and very slowly raised his head until his eyes met hers. His jaw was clenched and his hands bawled up into fists.

"Do you know why I am here?" she asked him.

The hybrid took a breath before speaking, "to kill me."

The stern, cold look from his mother's eyes dissipate into something warmer and…dare he say it? Loving? Klaus flinched when Esther brought her hand up to rest on her son's cheek.

"You are my son, Niklaus. I am not here to kill you; I am here to forgive you."

Klaus was confused by his mother's confession. It couldn't be right. It had to be a trick for him to take his guard down. She can't have forgiven him. Not for what he did to her.

"I want to be a family again."

* * *

Bonnie's sensitive eyes squinted at the bright lights that seemed to be surrounding her when she awoke. Her head was pounding and her throat felt like she had eaten sand. She saw the glass of water next to her and downed the whole glass within seconds, her face scrunching up in confusion when she noticed she was in her bedroom. The last thing she remembered was being in the cave with Lucy and trying to open the coffin. Falling back onto her bed she closed her eyes and tried to remember what else had happened.

A soft knocking on her bedroom door before Lucy poked her head through the partially opened door. "Oh good, you're up," she said with a smile and walked fully into her room and practically launching herself on Bonnie's bed, nearly making the younger witch bounce of it. "Good news, we opened the coffin. Bad news, we lost whatever was inside," Lucy informed Bonnie as she fiddled with the stuffed elephant that never left Bonnie's bed. "Oh, and the son of a bitch attacked us if you hadn't already figured that out yet."

As soon as the words left Lucy's mouth everything came flooding back to Bonnie. After calling Damon she went back into the cave and saw Lucy on the ground and the coffin opened. Bonnie had no idea what attacked her, she didn't get a good look at it before it through her against the rocky wall. The memory of being tossed like a rag doll caused a sharp shooting pain to course along her back, neck and left shoulder. Not to mention the now pounding headache.

"So we don't know what's in it?" Bonnie asked as she sat back up in her bed, letting out a small groan of pain in the process.

"You okay?" Lucy asked, concerned.

Bonnie nodded her head, "Yeah, just a little sore. How about you? You were unconscious when I came back."

Lucy shrugged her shoulders, "nothing I have had done to me before."

The younger witch shot her cousin a confused look, "what do you mean?"

"Remember when we first met and I told you that I was working with Katherine because she saved my life?" Lucy asked and Bonnie nodded her head, "She saved me from another vampire. This vampire was a complete psycho and had an immense hatred for witches. I was nearly dead when Katherine found me. She killed the vampire and healed me with her blood." She finished and leant back against the headboard, besides Bonnie.

"That's horrible," Bonnie replied with a frown. Stories like these did not help with making her hate vampires any less.

"Cousin witches, nice to see you two looking alive," Damon interrupted the two Bennett's and came striding into Bonnie's room like he owned the place.

"Anything on whatever was in the coffin?" Lucy asked the elder Salvatore as he took a seat on Bonnie's desk chair.

"Nothing as of yet but Stefan and Alaric are out looking and I'm sure whatever it is will turn up soon," he replied as he picked through the items that covered Bonnie's desk. "Hopefully with a dead Klaus," he added and held up a folded piece of paper. "Oh, what's this?" he asked as he nosily opened the letter. "Oh! It's a love letter from Baby Gilbert! How positively stomach churning-ly sweet," he answered himself in an annoying high pitched voice before tossing the letter back onto the desk.

"Would you mind not going through my stuff?" Bonnie asked him, annoyed.

"Yes, I would mind," he replied and continued to go through her things.

"Ass," Bonnie murmured under her breath and Lucy let out a snicker.

"If this thing does kill Klaus, then can Bonnie end this thing with Kol?" Lucy asked Damon.

"Bonnie can do whatever she likes when Klaus is dead. Personally, I'd like to be there when you break the news to the little bitch," Damon replied with a smirk.

"Why? So he can snap both our necks?" Bonnie asked and both Lucy and Damon turned to her. "Do you really think he is going to take me playing with his feelings lightly? Did you even think of that Damon when you and Stefan came up with this plan?"

"Nothing like that is going to happen, Bonnie. When Klaus is dead we'll neutralise all the other Originals before Kol even gets the chance to do something to you," Damon reassured the young witch.

"Then what?"

"Then we drop the coffins in the middle of the ocean or something and then get the hell on with our lives."

The conversation between the three supernaturals ended there. Damon soon left to join his brother and Alaric on their search for the missing coffin inhabitant and Lucy when to celebrate the success of the spell by heading over to The Grill for a 'celebratory drink' as she called it, while Bonnie stayed home and cooked herself dinner.

She hadn't realised how long she had been out. She'd slept through the afternoon and well into the early evening so when she started to finally feel better she realised that she was absolutely starving.

Having some alone time really gave her a chance to think over what had been going on the last few weeks and more importantly, Kol. Yesterday was most definitely a… interesting experience to say the least. Bonnie won't deny that Kol is a great kisser and strangely enough she finds herself enjoying his kisses and the occasional touches. He'd been able to make her feel things that she had never felt before. He says things to her that makes her think, affects her, and gets to her. He gets to her.

Did she like Kol? She did. She found herself enjoying his company. He's charming, funny and when he's around her his focus is sorely on her which is something Bonnie is not really used to. She does not have feelings for him. There is absolutely no doubt about that in her mind about that. But he is right, there is something between them and it honestly scares the crap out of her. She doesn't want to have anything between them, nothing at all. Not hate, not lust, not want, not affection and definitely not love. No nothing.

Hopefully this mysterious coffin creature will destroy Klaus before any of this gets out of hand.

The young witch had just finished cleaning up the kitchen when the doorbell rang. Bonnie wiped her hands on a towel before she made her way to the door. She opened the door and was surprised to find Kol standing there.

Huh, think of the devil and he shall appear.

But what was more surprising was the expression that was covering his face. He looked almost… sad. Looking into his eyes she noticed that they had lost their mischievous twinkle that they usually held.

"What's wrong?" Bonnie asked. She hated that the concern in her voice was genuine. She hated her natural instinct to console those who were hurt and upset. She didn't even realise her mistake until it was too late. "Kol, just come inside and tell me what's wrong," she said after he bitterly laughed off her previous question.

His head snapped up as soon as she muttered the words that would grant him access to the one place she was completely safe from him.

Bonnie could feel her heart rate increase and she heard Stefan's voice once again starting to ring through her mind,

_Make it believable_

It was too late to turn back now.

"Please, Kol," she stood aside and motioned for him to walk through the threshold.

The Original stared at the doorway for a moment before slowly taking a step over the threshold. Once inside he turned to Bonnie and placed a hand on her arm and leant down to place a quick kiss to her lips. The whole action seemed very domesticated to Bonnie. Like a wife greeting her husband at the door after he arrived home from work. When he pulled away Bonnie took his hand and let him to her room. If she were sure Lucy would have been gone a while then she would have stayed in the living room but she didn't want Lucy unexpectedly arriving home and finding Kol inside the house. She'd have a fit if she knew that Bonnie invited him in, even if it were an accident.

"Already leading me to your bedroom, Miss Bennett? Have something in mind, do we?" Kol questioned her with a suggestive smile on his face. She was slightly amazed at how fast his mood had changed, his usual mischievous had returned.

She rolled her eyes before replying, "No. I just don't want my cousin to have a fit if she comes home early and finds that I've invited an Original inside my house," she explained as they entered her bedroom.

"I honestly thought it would be a lot longer before I saw the inside of your bedroom," Kol confessed as he looked around her bedroom.

"Yeah well don't make me regret inviting you in," her voice may have sounded playful, but she very much meant it. "Now are you going to tell me why you showed up on my doorstep looking miserable?"

And just like that, his good mood was gone.

"I don't want to talk about it," he answered like a stubborn child.

"Then why are you here?" she asked and took a seat on her bed and watched as Kol snooped through her room, similar to what Damon had done earlier. Damn nosy vampires.

"I felt like seeing you. How was your day with your cousin? Lucy is it?"

Bonnie nodded her head, "It was fine," she answered with a shrug of her shoulders. The movement, while small still caused a shoot pain the course through her left shoulder, the one that took quite a blow against the rocky wall of the cave when she was thrown against it earlier.

Kol, who was looking at a photo of Bonnie and her dad, saw her wince in pain through the reflection of the mirror in front of him. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?" He demanded as he shot around and super speeded in front of her. The Original reached out to touch her shoulder but she slapped his hand away.

"I'm fine," she said, smiling a little at his concern, "just a little sore."

"What from?

"Don't worry about it, it isn't important," she replied with a small head shake.

"Will you let me see?" He asked softly. "I just want to make sure you are okay," he added after she gave him an uncertain look.

The young witch bit her lip lightly as she quickly thought it through before nodding her head but before she could even untie the ribbon that held her cardigan together, Kol was already doing to for her.

His movements were slow and careful. He very slowly brought his hands up and gentle pushed the light fabric off her shoulders. Bonnie's heart rate increased and her breath got caught in her throat when his hands were ever so softly trailing closely behind the fabric as he slowly pulled it off and let it fall to a heap at the feet.

The whole time his eyes never leaving hers.

Kol very gently turned her around so her back was to him as he inspected the faintly bruised area. Tomorrow there was be a nasty bruise there, for sure.

"See? Not that bad," she said after regaining the ability to speak after the very surprising sensual moment.

Damn vampire, he can even make removing a jacket an intimate moment, Bonnie thought to herself with a scowl.

"It will be tomorrow," he replied as his hands moved over the bare skin of her shoulders and upper back.

Bad day to wear a camisole top…

"Why won't you tell me what happened?" Kol asked and wrapped his arms around her middle, holding her to him.

"I don't even really know myself," she replied and covered her hands over his and before she even realised, she had leant back into him.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that I didn't see who or what attacked me," she answered and his stiffened behind her.

"Someone attacked you?" He asked in a low, dangerous voice that caused a chill to run down her spine. He let go of her and turned her back around, the look in his eyes matching the tone of his voice. "Was it Damon?"

Bonnie's brows furrowed in confusion at the Originals accusation, "Why would Damon do this?"

Kol didn't even seem to comprehend what she just said as he let out a string of threats towards the elder Salvatore brother that got Bonnie even a little worried for Damon's safety.

Crap… she was going to have to tell him.

"It wasn't Damon. It was whatever was in that coffin of Klaus'," she revealed and his attention quickly snapped back to her.

"She did this to you?"

"You know what was in there?" Bonnie asked and her eyes widened slightly. Kol nodded before running a hand through his hair. "What is it?"

"My mother," he answered with a deep sigh.

"Your mother?" she repeated in disbelief. "But I thought she was on the other side?"

"Her spirit was but a friend of hers, another witch, preserved her body after Niklaus killed her," he explained as he sat on her bed and put his head in his hands.

"Klaus killed your mother?" Bonnie asked with fake shock and surprise. It was about time Kol knew the truth. "Is your mother here for revenge?"

Bonnie knew that she would be. Esther would want revenge on Klaus for killing her by killing him. Needless to say, Kol's answer sent real shock through her.

"I should call Da-

"No!" Kol cut her off and Bonnie jumped at the volume of his voice. He motioned to her to come to him and she did. Bonnie stood in between his legs and had her hands on either shoulder while he had his hands on her waist as he looked up at her. "Please don't tell your friends yet. Mother said she wanted to be a family again. She forgave Nik for his actions and she wants us to do the same. She just wants us to be a family again, Bonnie. We need some time alone without having to worry about the Salvatore's being a nuisance and trying to kill us every chance they get," he tried to explain to her but she wasn't really listening. All she could comprehend was that the coffin plan just joined the long line of failed plans.

Damon and Stefan would have a field day with this.

"Why did you come here?" she asked him and ran her hand through his hair.

"I just needed to get out for a while," he confessed to her and got up and began to pace around her room.

It scared Bonnie that Kol had chosen to come here, to here when he was feeling vulnerable and upset. It meant that there was some part of him that trusted her enough to let her see that side of him.

"Can I do anything?" Bonnie offered, walking over to him.

Kol said nothing just look at her before leaning down to kiss her but before their lips could do more than brush against each other, Lucy's drunk voice rang throughout the house.

"I'm hooomme!" She slurred in a very loud voice.

Bonnie couldn't help but give a small laugh at her cousin's expense. "I better go put her to bed before she hurts herself," she said to Kol. "I'll be back," she told him before making her way out of her room and to her cousin who was making a lot of noise in the kitchen.

The younger witch walked into the kitchen and found Lucy raiding through the cupboard trying to find something to eat.

"Oh hey, B!" she greeted loudly when she caught sight of Bonnie. "Do we have any noodles?"

Bonnie poured Lucy a glass of water and got some pills and handed them to her, "here take these." She managed to get Lucy to take the pills without any trouble but she wondered just how much Lucy had to drink when she mistook the pills for noodles.

Thankfully, Lucy was not a difficult drunk, nor was she a violent drunk so getting her into her bed was rather easy and she was out like a light as soon as her head hit the pillow.

After all that she made her way back into her room but noticed that Kol was nowhere to be seen but there was a note on her pillow. The young witch picked up the note and began to read it,

_Bonnie,_

_Thank you for tonight. You truly are a beautiful soul._

_I will come by and see you tomorrow._

_Sweet dreams, Beautiful._

_Yours,_

_Kol_

Bonnie re-read the note a couple of times, the feeling of panic growing stronger with each time.

There was no possible way that this could end well.

Not for her and not for anyone involved.

* * *

Esther was standing in the middle of her new bedroom was admiring the evolution of the home décor since she had been on the other side when she heard her youngest son yelling for her.

"Yes, son?" She answered his calls as she walked down the stairs. She had since changed out of her long cloth dress and into a more modern dress that ended just below the knees. Although different from what she was used to, it was far more comfortable.

"You attacked Bonnie. She freed you from that coffin after a thousand years and you give your thanks by causing her harm."

Esther let out a sigh before replying to her son, "Kol, you have to understand that I needed to get to you and your siblings without any trouble following. You of all should know that I would never want to bring harm to Bennett's and I intend to make right with my actions towards them, do not worry my son," she explained to her youngest son.

"Kol, are you and the youngest Bennett in a relationship?" she asked, "I only ask because it is unlike you to feel concern for anyone but your own family."

"No, mother, we are not in a relationship but I do care for her," he answered her honestly.

His response brought a smile to Esther's lips. This was all too perfect, she thought. The Original Witch had not been completely certain that young Bonnie had received the dreams that Esther had sent to her but she was certain that she had now.

"It is amazing that even after all these years, the Bennett's and the Mikaelson's always seem to find their way back to each other," she said, the smile still on her face as she left her son standing in the middle of the foyer.

It would not be long now.


	11. Arguments and Invitations

Rebekah was positively fuming upon being awaken from her neutralised state. There was not one breakable object in the room that was in one piece. She was furious with the Doppelganger wench for literally stabbing her in the back after Rebekah had opened up to her. That was not something that Rebekah did in front of just anyone and the little bitch played her for a fool. There was no doubt in the female Original's mind that she would get her revenge on little Miss Queen Elena but most of all she was furious with her brother.

Out of all the people in the world, she figured that Nik would be the one that she could count on no matter what. She felt betrayed that he killed their mother than proceeded to lie about it to her face for [a thousand years](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/11/Fool_Me_One_Fool_Me_Twice) and blamed her mother's death on their father. He had obviously tried to keep the truth from Elijah, Kol and Finn if he had taken their daggers out but left hers in.

She should really thank the Bennett witches for releasing her mother from that coffin which in turn got her released from hers.

"Are you quite finished there, Bekah?" Klaus asked from his spot in the doorway. Not willing enough to come through. He knew as soon as he walked into that room he would have every object with a sharp edge coming towards him.

"Not even close, Niklaus," she snarled and threw a vase against a [painting](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/11/Fool_Me_One_Fool_Me_Twice) causing the glass of the vase to shatter and sent the painting crashing down to the floor.

With every breaking object she could feel the slight satisfaction welling up. It wouldn't bubble over until Nik had something sharp protruding from his chest, though.

"How could you do that to her, Nik? How could you kill your own mother?" She knew her brother was messed up but killing their own mother was something else entirely and the fact that she was [now](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/11/Fool_Me_One_Fool_Me_Twice) alive was not the issue. It was the fact that Klaus had deceived them all for so many years.

"We don't need to get into this, Bekah. Everything is fine. She's here now. She's alive and she forgives me for it. She wants us to be a family again," he tried to console his scorned sister. "All is forgiven sister. We can move on."

Rebekah took a break from her one woman wrecking crew act and turned to her brother, "She may forgive you, Nik, but I do not. Please leave."

The youngest Original watched as her brother turned and left her in peace to [continue](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/11/Fool_Me_One_Fool_Me_Twice) her path of destruction.

* * *

Elena and Caroline were at Bonnie's house bright and early the next morning. Caroline had told Elena what she had witnessed happened in the bathroom at The Grill the other night and Bonnie promised that she would tell Elena what had happened but she never got back to her about it.

Both girls were worried about their friend. It wasn't like Bonnie to do [stuff](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/11/Fool_Me_One_Fool_Me_Twice) like that, let alone with a vampire. They needed to know what was going on.

Caroline knocked on the door and they waited but there was no answer.

"Is she home?" Elena asked Caroline.

The young blonde vampire pushed a lock of hair behind her ear as she concentrated on hearing the sounds in the young witch's house before answering. "She's here. I think she may be still asleep," Caroline answered before looking around the porch, trying to remember where Bonnie keeps the spare key

"Here we go!" Caroline exclaimed victoriously as she lifted one of the pot plants in the corner to reveal the spare key.

"Uhhh… what is he doing here?" Elena questioned when she saw Kol walking onto Bonnie's property.

"Is he stalking her now?" Caroline asked as stood next to Elena. Both girls watching the Original like a hawk. "What the hell are you doing here?" Caroline demanded as Kol came closer.

"Well considering that this is Bonnie's house and she is inside, surely even you are smart enough to put two and two together," Kol answered, snidely.

"You know what? I don't even want to know what you want from Bonnie but just stay the hell away from her or I'll-

"Or you'll what? Talk my ears off with your incessant nonsense?" Kol glared at the much younger vampire, "If I want to see Bonnie, there is not a damn thing you can do about it."

"Oh, really? Well, we'll see about that," she replied and turned to the door and unlocked it before she and Elena stepped inside. "Well, we're in here… with Bonnie while you are stuck out there."

Looking at the two girls he smirked and took a dramatic step over the threshold. His smile only widened at the shock and displeasure that was emanating from the two girls in front of him.

"She invited you in?" Elena gaped.

"Just last night, we shared a pleasant evening together," he replied, finding humour in watching the two girls fume in anger.

"You're lying. You forced Bonnie to invite you in!" Elena accused the Original. "You obviously compelled her."

Kol rolled his eyes at the accusations. "Witches cannot be compelled, Doppelganger. I did not force Bonnie to invite me in, in fact I never even asked her to," he told them truthfully.

"Why should be believe you?" Caroline questioned with folded arms.

"I really could not care less whether you believe me or not. I've been invited in and I'm not going anywhere so deal with it or you can leave," Kol declared, his patients wearing thinner with every passing moment and if neither of them shut their mouths very soon, he'd detach their heads from their bodies.

"We are not going anywhere!" Caroline stomped her foot.

"Neither am I," Kol replied just as stubborn as the blonde.

All three of them turned when they heard Bonnie's tired voice on the stairs. "What the hell is going on here?"

* * *

Bonnie was sleeping rather peacefully before she was awoken by loud arguing happening in her house. She had let out an annoyed growl before she rolled out of bed and trudged to the stairs to see what the hell was going on.

Once she was there she saw Elena, Caroline and Kol all standing at the bottom of the stairs, in a heated argument. They didn't even hear her get up.

"What the hell is going on here?" She exclaimed tiredly and all three heads turned to look at her as she stopped on the bottom step.

"Why did you invite him in?" Caroline nearly shouted.

Bonnie's ears were a little sensitive having just woken up and she winced at Caroline's loud –almost screeching- voice.

"That's none of your business!" Kol exclaimed.

"It is my business, she is my best friend and it is my duty to make sure assholes like you don't take advantage of her," Caroline answered, getting in Kol's face.

"I am not taking advantage of her and you are making her sound like a child. She's mature enough to make her own decisions or are you too busy wrapped up in your own life to see that?"

Elena came around to stand near Bonnie, obviously not wanting to take part in the verbal smack down that was happening before them.

"Are you okay?" Elena asked her. She could tell that the argument between Kol and Caroline was affecting her by the expression on her face. She really did not want Caroline arguing with Kol.

Bonnie nodded her head and ran a hand through her tangled mess of hair.

"Listen here, Kol," Caroline spat his name with pure disgust and hatred. "Elena and I know Bonnie better than anyone else and she doesn't like your kind. It even took her a while to get used to me becoming a vampire. So you have obviously done something to her or are threatening someone to keep her close to you because she would never be with someone like you," Caroline snarled and got in Kol's face.

Bonnie's jaw dropped once Caroline had finished talking. It wasn't unusual for Caroline to be petty and occasionally nasty, but neither Bonnie nor Elena had seen Caroline like this. The young blonde was usually someone that would always try to see the good in someone. Bonnie looked from Caroline to Kol and quickly moved between the two vampires.

"Alright, this needs to stop now," she declared strongly, looking between them.

"You shouldn't have invited him in, Bonnie," Caroline said and Kol rolled his eyes again.

Bonnie shot a look a pleading look to Elena and the doppelganger nodded her head before grabbing the blond vampires arm and pulling her to the kitchen and after a little resistance, Caroline followed with a huff.

Once the two were out of sight Bonnie turned to face Kol who was still looking quite angry. Her hand moved to cover his clench fist and he immediately relaxed.

"What are you doing here so early?" she asked him. She knew he was going to be here today from his note but she didn't expect him to be here at eight in the morning.

Kol looked around for a moment, spotting a notepad and pen on a nearby table. He grabbed it and quickly scribbled something down. Obviously he didn't want to risk Caroline and Elena hearing so it was obviously about his mother.

After he was done he handed it to her. She looked down and read:

_Mother would like you and Lucy to join us for dinner tonight._

Dinner with the Originals? That sounded…pleasant….and probably awkward. She'd been at the Mikaelson mansion before but she had just been around Kol then (save for the occasional interruption) and this would be sitting in a room with five Original vampires and the Original witch for the best part of a few hours. Not the most ideal dinner party to attend in her opinion.

"I'll have to clear it with Lucy first," she replied back quietly. At least Lucy being there would make it a little less uncomfortable for her.

"Bonnie! Hurry up!" She heard Caroline call from the kitchen.

"Does she ever keep that mouth of hers shut?" Kol commented, irritated by the intrusion.

Bonnie shook her head and made a mental note to keep Caroline and Kol away from each other in the future. She was not going to deal with this every time they were in the same room.

"Okay, let me deal with these two then I'll talk to Lucy after she recovers from last night then I'll get back to you. Sound good?"

Kol nodded his head, accepting her answer.

"Okay, so I'll see you a bit later then." Bonnie said before leaning up and pecking his cheek for good measure.

Kol left soon after and Bonnie made her way into to her kitchen where Elena and Caroline lay wait.

"Alright, let me have it," Bonnie said when she reached the two of them.

Caroline wasted no time in jumping down Bonnie's throat. "What were you thinking inviting him in?"

"It's my house, Care, I can invite whoever I want in," Bonnie replied.

"He's an Original! He'll probably slaughter you in your sleep."

"He's honestly not that bad."

In all honesty, Bonnie had no idea how bad Kol really was but Caroline really didn't need to know that right now.

"Really, Bonnie, he's not that bad?" Caroline replied mockingly. "He's a freaking Original! Of course he's that bad!"

"Caroline," Bonnie pleaded, rubbing her temples. She wanted to come clean to her two best friends about what was really going on and then maybe they would understand but she couldn't. There was no way they would accept it and they would try to find another way around it and probably end up ruining it. "Just accept that Kol and I are…" Bonnie stopped short. She didn't really know how to finish that sentence.

"You and Kol are what, together? Friends?" she said each word with a hint of distaste. She really didn't like this.

"I don't know, Caroline but whatever it is just accept it," Bonnie snapped before storming off, leaving Caroline and Elena alone in her kitchen.

Bonnie felt a little bad for her treatment of one of her oldest friends, she knew that the blonde was only trying to be a good friend and look out for her but she just couldn't stand being under siege like that.

Bonnie had been in her room when Elena walked in after softly tapping at the door.

"Caroline just left," she said and walked over to the bed and sat down across from Bonnie. "I just want to let you know that I get it, Bonnie, I really do."

The young witch looked up at her friend, confused.

"I get the allure that vampires possess. I've been through it twice; I know what you're feeling. There is obviously something about Kol that draws you to him and I can understand why he is drawn to you." Elena said honestly and smiled a little at the last bit. "Caroline's intentions are in the right place, she's just not going about it right. You're our best friend, Bonnie and we worry about you. You do so much for us, you're always there when we need you so let us do the same for you." Her voice was filled with sincerity as she continued to speak. "We're not exactly happy that the vampire you have chosen to get close to is Kol but if you see something good in him then I'll try to do the same."

Bonnie honestly wanted to cry right now. She was close to losing Caroline and Elena thought she was in love with Kol and was accepting it.

This was not meant to be so damn hard.

* * *

"Will the Bennett's be joining us for dinner tonight?" Esther asked Kol once he arrived home. The Original witch was very eager to properly meet the two of them. They had much to discuss and she hoped that tonight they would be able to do so.

"She doesn't know of yet, she needs to clear it with Lucy first. We were not able to talk much, her friends were there," Kol answered his mother. Esther let a small smile appear at her son's tone. Esther could tell that he was not very fond of the young Bennett's friends and wanted her all to himself, a very Kol-like trait.

"Very well, please let me know when they have answered," she requested and he nodded before leaving her and making his way through the mansion to find his sister.

"Mother?" Finn's voice got her attention. Esther spun around and saw him standing tall by the stairwell. "May I have a word?"

"Of course, we shall speak in the study," she replied and led her son to the study where the sage burns so they may speak in private.

Finn knew of her intentions. Although she loved all her children dearly, Finn was the only one she could trust to understand why she had to do this. Why she had to make right with the wrong that she created a thousand years ago. Finn hated what he was, the curse that he was given so he was only happy to comply with her plans.

"Is it safe to speak?" he asked once they reach the room.

"Yes, the sage still burns," she answered and sat down on the leather couch. "What is wrong, son?"

"I am curious on how you plan to have the Bennett's on our side. The young one is quite close with Kol."

"I intend on revealing our plan to the witches tonight if they accept my invitation. I expect there shall be no trouble with gaining their help. You mustn't worry, Finn, you will learn all tonight," She answered.

Esther was certain that she would succeed with her plans. Nothing would go wrong.

* * *

It was around twelve pm when Lucy woke up and she was not as bad as Bonnie had expected when she awoke. There was no groaning and vomiting or crawling on the floor. She seemed fine.

"How are you not face down on the bathroom right now?" Bonnie questioned as she watched Lucy shovel down food.

"I don't get hangovers. Well, I don't get bad ones. Not anymore anyway." She answered between bites of her food.

"Okay, well there is something that I need to ask you," she said, referring to Esther's invitation for dinner tonight.

"Shoot," Lucy said, finishing the last of her food.

"First of all, don't freak because I was going to tell you when you woke up anyway but I know who was in the coffin. It was the Original witch, Klaus' mother," Bonnie revealed to her cousin who nearly choked on her food.

"Klaus' mother? Klaus' mother is going to kill him?"

"Well that is the bad part. No she's not. Kol said she forgave Klaus for killing her and she wants them to be a family again," she told Lucy.

"Whoa back up there, Kol was here last night?" Lucy questioned.

"Yeah, he came by last night. He was kind of upset," she replied softly. "Look you can't tell Damon and Stefan about Esther, not yet. I promised Kol that I would give them some time alone without having to worry about the Salvatore's trying to go after them. What?" She questioned when she noticed Lucy looking at her funny.

"Bonnie, I'm just worried that you may be a in a bit over your head here. Kol coming here when he is upset means he trusts you and when the time comes that you will have to turn on him… who knows how'll react to having his feelings played with," Lucy said seriously.

"I know. Believe me I thought about it at length last night. But what else am I supposed to do? I can't just give it all up now," Bonnie replied with a sigh. It was too late now; she has no choice but to see this through to the end.

"Like I said before, when you feel too overwhelmed come straight to me," she said with a smile. "I'll keep you sane."

Bonnie smiled. It was nice having Lucy around.

"So what are we going to do about momma Original?" Lucy asked, placing her empty plate in the sink.

"Back to my original question, Kol also came around early this morning and told me that Esther had invited you and me to dinner at their place tonight. I told him that I'd have to ask you before I gave him an answer," she told her cousin. "So what do you think?"

"Dinner with the Originals...that would certainly be an experience," Lucy snickered.

"So is that a yes or a no?"

"Why the hell not," Lucy replied. "I'd say it's about time I that formally met the Originals." The elder Bennett said with a devious smile before leaving the kitchen but quickly snapping her head back in Bonnie's direction. "Plus I want to know why that bitch attacked us." She added and then left the kitchen.


	12. The Dinner Party - Part 1

Bonnie Bennett was sitting on the swinging chair on her porch, waiting for Kol to show up. After Lucy had agreed to go the dinner party that Esther had invited them too, Bonnie had called Kol to tell him that they were accepting his mother's invitation. There really was no need for him to come around but he insisted, claiming that he wanted to see her with Caroline and Elena around.

She hadn't been waiting long before she saw a sleek black sports [car](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/12/Fool_Me_One_Fool_Me_Twice) pull up in front of her house. Bonnie raised an eye brow and rose from her seat to meet him half way.

"You can drive?" Bonnie asked him, sounding somewhat surprised.

"Wasn't that hard to learn, I am a vampire after all," he replied. "Mother is ecstatic that you accepted her invitation. She is very much looking forward to meeting you and Lucy," Kol told her as she led him onto the porch and they sat on the swinging chair.

"Should be a very interesting evening," Bonnie replied with a small nervous laugh.

"Nervous?" Kol asked her, smile widening and put an arm around her shoulders, bringing her closer to him.

"A little," she replied with a shrug, her head resting on his shoulder.

"If it makes you feel any better, I can guarantee that no harm will come to you tonight. You are mother's guest and none of my siblings would be willing to anger her by mistreating you or your cousin," he reassured her as he played with her hair.

Surprisingly enough, his words did make her feel better, although, she was curious to why Esther cared so much about meeting her and Lucy.

"Why does [your mother](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/12/Fool_Me_One_Fool_Me_Twice) want to meet us so badly?" Bonnie asked Kol.

"She wants to be the one to explain that to you tonight but let's just say that the Bennett's and the Mikaelson's have a bit of a history together," he answered her with a bright smile.

Bonnie looked up at him, confusion written all over her face. Her family line knew the Originals?

"How much history do our families have?"

"You'll just have to wait till tonight to find that out," he replied with that mischievous glint in his eyes that she had come to be so familiar with.

"You seem happier today," Bonnie noted. "Everything going well with your mother?"

"As well as to be expected after [a thousand years](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/12/Fool_Me_One_Fool_Me_Twice)." He answered with a shrug. "I was much closer to my father than my mother. In fact I planned to search for him after the dagger was removed from me but as it turns out Nik killed him too." He said with a bitter voice.

"Why do you insist on staying with Klaus after all he's done?" Bonnie asked him.

The young girl was honest to god curious to why all the Originals [continue](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/12/Fool_Me_One_Fool_Me_Twice) to side with Klaus after everything he had done to them.

"Nik and I may not be on the best of terms right now but I know he'd be there if I needed him because at the end of the day your family will be there no matter what."

"So… what is the dress code for tonight?" She asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Mother says semi-formal. I tell you, this era was made for her. All the extravagance, she loves it. She's even considering throwing this over the top ball for the town. Nik is currently trying to talk her out of it while Bekah is encouraging it."

Bonnie laughed. Kol made it seem like they were just some normal family.

"Thank you for not telling the Salvatore's about my mother's release. We are all grateful for that." He said and leant down, giving her a chaste kiss.

Bonnie sat up a bit so she could deepen the kiss. The young witch had her hand on his cheek and he had one of his behind her head and the other still around her shoulders.

The kiss was getting more intense as her mouth opened to let Kol's tongue in but before it could go any further Kol was clutching his head in his hand and letting out small groans of pain.

The young witch spun her head around and saw Lucy standing by the door. Bonnie gave her a 'what the hell' expression and Lucy gave up her assault on the Original.

"I think you need to get your hands and mouth off my cousin," she said in a dark tone.

"Lucy, just go inside and I'll be in in a minute," Bonnie said.

"Be sure that you are," she said and shot a lasting glare at Kol before going back inside.

"I'm sorry about her. She's very protective," Bonnie apologised. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," he reassured her. He'd had a lot worst in the past. "I don't think she likes me very much," Kol commented.

"It's your kind, not you. Don't take it personally," Bonnie replied with a small laugh.

"I should probably go," he said. "I call you later," he added before giving her a quick kiss (not pushing for more) and taking his leave.

* * *

A few hours later, Bonnie and Lucy were in Bonnie's bedroom.

"Is there a dress code for tonight?" Lucy asked Bonnie as she watched the younger girl go through her wardrobe.

"Kol said semi-formal," she replied and pulled a dress from the rack and held it against her, "What do you think of this?" It was a simple black dress that was gathered at the waist on the right side causing an asymmetric hemline, starting mid-thigh on the right and just above the knee on the left.

Lucy got up from her seat and took to dress from Bonnie and inspected it. "Appropriate amount of cleavage and just the right amount of leg, I approve." Lucy said and handed the dress back to Bonnie before leaving to get herself ready.

Bonnie showered and wrapped herself in her bathrobe while she blow dried her hair before heating up her curling iron and creating some soft curls in her hair. She powdered her face with some light make-up before taking her dress of the hanger and sliding it on. The young girl went back into her room and fetched some black heeled sandals out of her wardrobe. She paired the dress with a gold linked charmed bracelet that Caroline had gotten her for her last birthday.

She stood in front of her floor length mirror and turned around a few times to view her outfit.

A whistle from her door made her turn around and face her cousin who was wearing a dress similar to the one she wore at the Masquerade ball. "Looking good, little B," she complimented.

"You too," she replied and giggled when Lucy did a little twirl. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yup and I've spoken to Damon so he knows what's going on so we're good to go."

"You left the Esther bit out right?"

"I promised you that I wouldn't tell them yet." Lucy said as they left the house.

* * *

"So let me get this straight, Elijah is the double crosser, Klaus is the hybrid, Rebekah is the thousand year old Caroline and Finn would be the other one." On the way to the mansion, Bonnie had been describing which Original is which to Lucy seeing as she has only ever met Kol.

"Pretty much," Bonnie replied as they pulled into the Mikaelson mansion.

Kol had insisted that he pick them up but Bonnie declined, deciding that having their own form of transportation there was better in case everything went pear shaped and she and Lucy had to get out of there.

"Are you ready to enter the lion's den?" Lucy asked dramatically before she got out of her car.

"Ready as I'll ever be," Bonnie mumbled as they walked up to the front door.

They must have been waiting for them to arrive because as soon as they reached the door, Elijah had opened it, dressed in one of his usual suits. Bonnie wondered if he owned anything other than suits.

"Ladies," he greeted and let them enter the mansion. "We are pleased that you could make it."

"Kol made it sound like so much fun," Bonnie replied in a short tone. Ever since the night of the sacrifice she has had a high dislike for the regal Original.

"By the looks of the suit I take it you're Elijah then," Lucy commented, eyeing Elijah.

"You would be right. You must be Lucy. It's a pleasure to finally meet you," he replied and took her hand, placing an old fashioned kiss on the back of her hand.

Bonnie smirked at her cousin who just rolled her eyes in response and took her hand back from the Original. "I'm sure it is," she mumbled.

"My mother should be down shortly. She is putting the finishing touches on her outfit," Elijah told them as he began to lead them out of the foyer and into another room.

"Oh, are we early?" Bonnie asked as she took a seat on one of the plush leather chairs, placing her legs in way that nothing was showing.

"Not at all, she is having a bit of difficulty adjusting to all the changes along with the dramatic change in clothing. Rebekah is helping her as we speak." Elijah replied with a genuine smile on his face. Bonnie could tell that he was happy to have his mother around.

Elijah offered both Lucy and Bonnie a drink and while Bonnie politely declined, her cousin jumped at the offer. Bonnie could really see why Lucy and Damon got along so well with their love for the hard liquor.

While Lucy sipped her drink she questioned where all the other Originals were.

"Finn will lock himself away in his room until the last minute; Klaus is overseeing the cooks in the kitchen to make sure they get everything perfect and Kol –

"Is right here," Kol cut off Elijah as he walked into the room, wearing a pair of black jeans with a white dress shirt that was half tucked in and with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Not caring for his mother's request of semi-formal attire.

Kol immediately made his way to the youngest witch, taking a hold of her hands and gently pulling her off the chair, eye's trailing over her form. "You look absolutely beautiful tonight, Bonnie," he told her and she let out a girlish giggle when he twirled her around to see the full outfit.

Lucy watched the two of them with a frown. Lucy knew of her cousin's strengths even though they had just known each other for a short while and this was not one of them. Bonnie might try to convince herself and Lucy that she doesn't care for Kol but Lucy can see it. She'd been in that position. She unintentionally fell in love with a vampire, she knew the signs. The older Bennett would certainly be keeping a close eye on the two. She wouldn't allow it to get that far, she would never let Bonnie fall into the same pattern she did.

The older Bennett hoped for the sake of her cousin's sanity that they would be rid of the Originals soon.

"I take it you are not pleased with their relationship?" Elijah quietly asked her as they both observed the young lovers.

"That would be an understatement."

"If it is any consolation, Kol's intentions with Bonnie are genuine. He does admittedly care for her."

Lucy let out a heavy sigh and took a large swig of her drink. "That's what I was afraid of," she mumbled. "They will never end well. It never does."

Elijah raised a brow. "You speak from experience?"

"First hand," she confirmed and then turned to face. "After a thousand years on this earth surely even you should know that it never ends well for a witch and a vampire. We are two species that were never meant to mix. All there is is death and heartache."

The Original said nothing but nodded in understanding. Although Elijah had never fallen for a witch he was aware of what Lucy was speaking of. He knew quite a number of vampires and witches who had suffered that fate.

Kol –who had been listening in on Elijah and Lucy's conversation- found himself gripping tighter onto Bonnie's hands.

"What's wrong?" Bonnie asked him, noticing his slight change in manner.

Kol quickly composed himself before giving her his most seductive smile and leaning down to whisper in her ear. "Your dress is having all sorts of effects on me."

His words caused a blush to rise to her face and she playfully pushed him away.

Esther soon arrived downstairs with Rebekah in tow, both girls looking beautiful. Rebekah wore a navy blue one shoulder satin dress that ended mid-thigh with her hair straight with curled ends while Esther wore a deep red dress that ended just below the knee, her short hair styled perfectly around her face.

"Lucy, Bonnie, I am so happy you could make it this evening," Esther greeted them like they were old friends. "It is so wonderful to finally meet you two but firstly I would like to apologise for attacking you. I just wanted to get back to my family and explain myself to them without having to worry about being followed." Esther apologised with sincerity.

"We understand. We've not told the Salvatore's yet but we will have to eventually." Lucy spoke up from her spot next to Elijah.

"I completely understand that and still thank you for giving us some time without any worry." Esther paused for a moment before continuing. "Now, the three of us have much to discuss tonight and according to Kol you do not have much knowledge of your ancestors, am I right?"

"The oldest I know of is Emily from 1864. She possessed me last year to destroy a talisman. She's currently haunting the Witch House along with some other witches that were burnt back then." Bonnie answered her.

"Well, it will be a pleasure for me to inform you of the rest but I feel after dinner would be a more appropriate time."

Esther was pleased that everything was running smoothly. She had given herself a good reason to speak with the Bennett's alone without worrying about raising suspicion among her children.

Klaus had soon entered the room to announce the dinner would be served shortly before introducing himself to Lucy – who ignored him in the nicest way possible by continuing her conversation with Elijah.

"I don't believe your cousin likes me very much," he noted as he moved to stand near Kol and Bonnie. Kol's arms had instinctively tightened around the young witch when Klaus had neared them.

Bonnie let out a laugh. "Kol said the same thing earlier today. Let's just say Katherine wasn't entirely accurate when she called me the vampire hating Bennett witch."

Bonnie disliked vampires as much as the next witch, but Lucy's attitude towards them was something else. She completely loathed them.

The younger Bennett turned her head to watch Lucy interact with Elijah. She was obviously interested in whatever they were talking about but Bonnie could still see that she had her guard up, ready to run or fight at the first sight of trouble.

Over her shoulder, Kol and Klaus were currently having a staring match, knowing each other so well that they could read each other by just mere expressions or way of body language.

The younger Original didn't like the way that his brother's eyes kept flowing over Bonnie's form and if he wanted to keep those eyes then he best keep his eyes away from Bonnie.

Klaus gave up and left the room, heading back to the kitchen. Usually he would have pushed his limits to make Kol snap but they had all promised their mother that they would be on their best behaviour and Klaus didn't want his mother to change her mind about not wanting to kill him.

"What was that about?" Bonnie asked Kol as she watched Klaus leave.

Kol gave Bonnie a questionable look. A look that looked completely adorable on his face.

"Klaus. I saw the looks you two were giving each other. What's going on?"

"He's just being his normal irritating self and trying to push my buttons." Kol replied and randomly placed a kiss on her cheek.

Klaus came back into the room fifteen minutes later to tell them that dinner was ready and just as Kol was about to take Bonnie's hand she was snatched up by Rebekah who had linked her arm with Bonnie and was already leading her out of the room towards the dining room.

"That dress looks stunning on you by the way," the female Original complimented as they made their way through the mansion.

Bonnie -taken back by the female vampires gesture of friendliness- smiled and thanked her and complimented her on her own ensemble.

Rebekah had begun to talk about something else and Bonnie turned around to cast a glance at Kol who was trailing behind them. He just smiled and winked at her.

They finally reached the dining room and Kol had practically pushed Rebekah out of his way so he could get to Bonnie. He pulled out a chair for the young witch just as the rest of his family and Lucy had filed into the room.

The young girl smiled at Kol before taking a seat. Rebekah had taken the seat on her right and Kol on her left. Lucy had sat across from her Elijah took the seat next to her, the two of them still in conversation and when Lucy laughed at something the Original had said Bonnie shot her a look as if to say 'traitor!' but Lucy just shrugged her shoulders at her.

All throughout dinner different conversations were happening. Lucy and Elijah had been non-stop talking and Bonnie was finding it unsettling if she were to be honest. Kol and Klaus were talking about something that Bonnie couldn't understand and she was taking part in surprisingly non-awkward small talk with Rebekah and every time that Kol would try to get Bonnie's attention, Rebekah would shoot him down and he would revert back to his conversation with Klaus, pouting.

Halfway through the evening Bonnie nearly choked on her food when she felt a cold hand brush against the bare skin of her thigh; thankfully it went unnoticed by everyone at the table. The young girl took a sip of her water before she turned to face Kol with one of her signature 'what the fuck are you doing?' looks but he wasn't even looking at her, he was still deep in conversation with Klaus about God knows what.

Bonnie tried to keep herself composed throughout the rest of the meal, accepting that Kol's hand was not going to leave her even after the countless times she pushed it off. His touches had become bolder with his hand firmly resting on her thigh, occasionally squeezing it gently.

He finally turned to face Bonnie when she dug her nails into his wrist. He gave her an innocent look to which she rolled her eyes at before pushing his hand off her leg what seemed like the twentieth time.

"You have such amazing legs, I can't keep my hands off them," he smirked and whispered in her ear, his hand once again finding her thigh.

"Oh keep it in your pants, Kol," Rebekah scolded.

Bonnie hoped that Rebekah was the only one who heard Kol's comment.

Once dinner had been finished, Esther rose from her seat. "Now before dessert is served, I would like a private moment alone with our guests. I believe that it is time for them to know their heritage. If you shall need us, we will be in my study," Esther announced as she stood up from the table. "Sisters," she smiled and motioned for Lucy and Bonnie to follow.

Bonnie shot a look to her cousin who just shrugged her shoulder in response before getting up out of her seat and followed the Original Witch, with Bonnie soon following suite (but not before Kol planted another kiss on her cheek).

The Bennett's followed Esther to her study where she shut the door after them. "We have full privacy in this room. The burning sage prevents my children from hearing our conversation. A spell you two might find use for I'm sure," she smiled at them before taking a seat and motioning for them to do the same.

"Kol said that our families have a history together," Bonnie said as soon as she sat down and Lucy shot her a look as if to say 'you didn't tell me that'.

"My son is correct. Back when my family was human, one of my very closest friends was a Bennett. Her name was Ayanna. Ayanna was a very powerful witch and was not just my friend but my mentor as well." Esther had begun to explain but was cut off my Lucy.

"So our family helped create vampires?"

"No. Ayanna was completely against us doing that but I did it anyway. I could not lose any more. Not after my youngest had been killed by the wolves." Esther replied, her brave demeanour dropping for a few seconds before returning.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Lucy sympathised with the older witch.

Esther smiled at the older Bennett witch before continuing. "Once Niklaus had made his first kill as a vampire his werewolf side triggered thus creating the hybrid. I loved Niklaus… but he was a mistake - a product of my indiscretion. Niklaus was my mistake to fix so that is why I bound his werewolf side. But that only angered him and understandably he took his anger out on me. Ayanna preserved my body in that coffin and spelled it shut. The spell only allowed a witch of the same bloodline to open it."

"My actions infuriated the spirits and it is my job to appease them. As a punishment they kept me aware of what my children were doing, all the pain and destruction that they left in their wake. That was when I knew that I had to put an end to it as soon as possible."

"What do you mean by 'put an end to it'?" Bonnie asked.

"I have to destroy my children. I have to right the wrong that I made and I have to do to as quickly as possible. That is why I contacted you, Bonnie."

Bonnie's head shot up at the reveal. "What do you mean that you contacted me?"

"I sent you those dreams of Kol. My son cannot help you, Bonnie, but I can. I want to end my children and I need both of your help to do so."

"Why Kol?" Bonnie asked.

"I needed you to have a connection to my family and it may have been a little odd if you started to suddenly show interest in Elijah or Niklaus now wouldn't it? And Kol is someone that falls in love rather quickly which is why we must work quickly. I cannot have any of my children finding out about this, especially not Kol, not around you dear. I apologise for having put you in such a dangerous situation with my son but it had to be done."

"Just how dangerous is Kol?" Lucy asked. "If Bonnie is putting herself right on the firing lines then we deserve to know what he is capable of."

"There was a reason why Kol was my husband's favourite. I'd always had real concern for Kol – mentally. Out of all my children Kol quite quickly adjusted to being a vampire. I do not wish to frighten you, Bonnie but you must be careful around him. I do not want anything to happen to you. I made a promise to Ayanna on the other side that I would protect you when I sent you those dreams." Esther said as she got up and took Bonnie's hand in hers.

"Sisters, with your help we can right the wrong that I made and set the world right." Esther smiled and took both their hands, connecting them together for that short moment before letting go.

"Now…we do have some more business to discuss but over the years my children have become very paranoid. If I keep both of you in here for too long they'll surely start to think that we are plotting against them," she said in light hearted voice. "So I think it is best if Bonnie you go back downstairs and I will inform Lucy of everything that needs to be done in order to succeed in our plans."

Truthfully, Esther needed to talk to Lucy alone. The Original Witch needed the blood of the doppelganger and Esther had heard that Bonnie is quite close to the latest one. She doubted that Bonnie would allow such a thing, but Lucy… Esther could see she was the type of person that would do just about anything to protect her family. Quite like herself.

After Lucy confirmed that is was fine, Bonnie rose from her seat and made to leave but was stopped by Esther. "Oh and Bonnie if you are ever in need of something and I am not around, please talk to my son Finn, he is aware of everything and he would be happy to help.

Bonnie walked out of Esther's study trying to comprehend all the information that the Original Witch had told her. It certainly was a lot to digest. Her family and the Mikaelson's being connected, Esther wanting their help to kill her children and what she had been told about Kol.

The young witch was so lost in thought that she didn't notice anyone behind her until they grabbed her around the waist and pulled her into a dark room. Bonnie's heart began to pound, her mind automatically thinking the worst but she relaxed when Kol spoke.

"I've finally got you alone," he purred into her ear. "You have been teasing me all night in that dress." Kol moved his hand from her waist and down to her exposed thigh in a tortuously slow pace. He used his other hand the move some of her hair away from her neck and leant his head down and brushed his lips against her skin. "I want you so badly. Can you feel it? How much I want you?" He pushed more against her as she spoke and she gasped when she felt his hardness pressing against her lower back.

Bonnie felt her judgment clouding as his hand moved to her inner thigh and slid upwards under her dress. The only thing she could think about was how good his hands felt on her and how much she wanted more of it. Her breathing deepened and she could feel the wetness begin to pool when she felt his fingertips brush the edge of her underwear.

"Do you want me to do this, Bonnie?" Kol asked and Bonnie let out a moan when he slipped a finger inside of her underwear and running a finger along her folds before taking it back out.

Bonnie -running sorely on lust- nodded her head, finding herself unable to form words at the presence moment.

She felt Kol smiling against her jaw as he hooked his fingers through her underwear and began to slide the fabric down her legs, letting it pool around her ankles. His fingers returned and he gently brushed his finger against her sensitive nub.

Bonnie moaned in pleasure at the new sensation she was feeling. And she jerked in his arms when she felt him slip a finger inside of her.

"God, you're so tight," he groaned in her ear. "Has anyone else ever done this to you before?" He asked as he started to move his finger in and out of her slowly.

Kol smirked Bonnie shook her head no against his neck and let out another loud moan when he added another finger and he increased his pace, each time pushing his fingers a little deeper. He'd be the only one that would do this to her. No one else.

This was all so new to Bonnie, she never experienced it before. She'd never even done it to herself. But whatever Kol was doing was amazing. Her body felt so hot and her knee's wanted to buckle and it wasn't till he added a third finger and sped up the pace that she started to feel an unfamiliar building in the pit of her stomach. She was breathing heavily against his neck as she tried to control her moans.

"Kol," she moaned out as she began to grind down on his hand as the feeling became more intense and her moans were becoming harder to hold in.

Caroline and Elena had spoken enough about this around her for Bonnie to know what was coming.

"Let go, Bonnie, just let it go," Kol hummed encouragements in her ear and pushed his fingers deeper into her.

Bonnie's hand went up and gripped the back of Kol's neck and she let out another loud moan as her walls clenched around his fingers. Kol's mouth crashed down on hers and he swallowed her screams as she came for the first time around his fingers.

Bonnie was breathing heavy with closed eyes when he pulled away, Kol's fingers were still inside of her and she had her juices running down her leg. Kol looked down at her with a smile on his face and she sent a sheepish one back, head still resting in his neck, her body resting completely against him.

Kol removed his fingers from her and made sure she was watching him when he sucked her juices off his fingers, one at a time. "You taste so good," he whispered before pressing their lips together, letting her taste herself on his tongue.

"How are you feeling?" He asked they had moved to lie on the bed. Kol's hand tracing up and down her leg.

"Amazing," she replied.

Very slowly Bonnie was starting regain her judgement but was still having trouble forming words. What would she say anyway? Thanks for the great first orgasm but I'm still going to kill you anyway?

Yeah right, that would end pleasantly.

Bonnie moved her head so that she could look at him. He looked so peaceful and contempt. It was almost hard to believe all those things that Esther had told her about him.


	13. The Dinner Party - Part 2

Bonnie and Kol were still lying on his bed, his fingers ghosting up and down her arm while her head rested on his chest, when a light tapping on [the door](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/13/Fool_Me_One_Fool_Me_Twice) broke through the pleasant silence that had engulfed the room around them.

Rebekah had peeked her head through the door after her warning knock. "Sorry to ruin your fun but mother would like to serve dessert now," she told them with a knowing smirk on her face. The blonde vampire knew exactly what had happened and so does all their siblings and even if she had not known, the smell of arousal that filled the room would have been a dead [giveaway](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/13/Fool_Me_One_Fool_Me_Twice).

"We'll be down in [a moment](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/13/Fool_Me_One_Fool_Me_Twice), Bekah," Kol replied to his sister and when she didn't make a move to leave Kol growled. "Bekah, just give us a moment. We will meet you down there."

"As you wish, brother," she replied. She was about to leave but she stopped and turned her attention to the young witch besides Kol. "Oh, and Bonnie" She said getting Bonnie's attention, "you smell lovely," she winked and sped off before Kol put a stake through her heart.

Bonnie's mouth dropped and she could feel her face burning up at Rebekah's comment. She sat up and covered her face with her hands in embarrassment.

"Oh, God," she muffled through her hands. "They all would have heard that wouldn't they?"

She could hear Kol chuckle from behind her and he sat up as well.

"Why would you do that with all them here?" she asked him, taking her hands away from her face and turning to look at him.

Kol rolled his eyes. "Had Rebekah not said something this would not even be bothering you. They will not say anything else and if they do they will have to deal with me," his voice raised slightly at the end, directing it to his siblings downstairs.

Kol moved closer to Bonnie and rested his head against hers. "You have nothing to be embarrassed about, what happened was a beautiful thing. You were beautiful," his voice then dropped to low, husky timbre before continuing, "and I cannot wait to experience this with you again."

Bonnie couldn't help but shiver in anticipation when he spoke into her ear. She was ashamed to admit that she wanted more of Kol.

She turned to him and a sly smile crossed her face. "Did just my dress cause this or did something else?" she asked him as she moved herself to straddle his lap and bent her head to his neck while gently rocking against him. He had definitely awoken something in her.

"I will admit, when I first saw you this evening it was difficult to refrain myself from throwing you down on the couch and ravishing you right there on the spot… but Niklaus might have said one or two things that caused me to become quite… possessive and Beautiful if you don't stop that right [now](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/13/Fool_Me_One_Fool_Me_Twice) I'll never let you leave this room," he said as she grounded down against him.

Bonnie no longer felt in control of herself. She was running on pure desire. "What if I don't want to leave this room?" she whispered against his ear.

Kol groaned when he felt her tongue run against his neck. Kol found it ironic that all vampires had sensitive necks.

"Bonnie, you have no idea what you are asking for. You are not ready for what I have for you," he nearly gritted out. Pushing her away nearly killed him. He just wanted pin her to the bed and finally bury himself deep inside of her the way he had imagined many a times but now was not the time.

When he and Bonnie would finally take things further, he would make it last. He wanted to learn and memorise every bit of her body, every imperfection, and her soft spots, how she likes to be touched and he would not stop until every inch of her had been cherished. He didn't want to do it quickly and not with his family downstairs listening to every word and sound.

Kol gently pushed Bonnie off of him and that seemed to send her back to reality. Bonnie looked to Kol and the embarrassment came flooding back. She was not one to lose control like that, and the fact that she did and around Kol…

Bonnie tried to say something but she couldn't find any words but Kol just laughed and gently caressed her face.

"My Beautiful Bonnie, I'm happy to see that I affect you as much as you affect me," he said. "Now let's go downstairs before Bekah comes up and drags us down."

* * *

Bonnie and Kol made their way back to the dining room where everyone else waited for them. The young witch made a point to avoid eye contact with every vampire in the room but when her eyes caught Klaus' she felt the blush rise back to her cheeks when he sent a wink her way.

For Bonnie, dessert was awkward to say the least. Although none of the Originals had said anything, she had to deal with their knowing glances and smirks which were even worse in her opinion.

Thankfully, Lucy (and Esther) seemed completely unaware and Bonnie would like it to stay that way.

Esther's voice had broken Bonnie out of her thoughts. "I'm sure you may already be aware that I am planning to host a ball in the coming weeks. Perhaps the week after next and I would very much love you to be there," she said to Bonnie and Lucy.

"We would love to," Bonnie answered with a smile.

"It should be a lot of fun," Klaus said dryly and Bonnie remembered Kol telling her that Klaus was against the whole idea.

"It should be a magical evening," Esther replied, ignoring her son's comment.

Bonnie could not have been more relieved when dessert was over, and while the table was being cleaned Esther had decided to move the party to the den where they would have some drinks. Bonnie found that she could certainly use a drink right about now but she wouldn't even be able to get near one with Lucy around (who had no problem with filling herself with alcohol but not Bonnie) so she settled for some iced water instead.

Kol had been near Bonnie the whole time but the moment he left her side, Klaus was there to fill the gap.

"Are we having fun?" he asked her, throwing his hand across the back of the couch, just barely grazing her shoulders.

"I suppose so," she replied, taking a sip of her water.

"Aw, come on now, love. From those sounds that were coming from you upstairs I'm sure you are having quite an enjoyable evening," he said in a low voice.

"If you say another word about that than I will set you on fire," she threatened him then proceeded to ignore him for the remainder of the evening.

She left her seat (and Klaus) and went over to were Kol was talking to Rebekah. Once by his side, his arm immediately snaked around her waist and held her close to him. While Kol was still talking to Rebekah, Bonnie scanned her eyes over the room, stopping at where Finn and Elijah were conversing.

Bonnie watched the two of them curiously. Finn and Elijah seemed to get along so well and it just seemed hard to believe that Finn would be so willing to kill himself and his siblings.

"Brother, would you mind if I stole your date for a while?" Rebekah asked Kol. The male Original shrugged and looked to Bonnie, indicated that it was her choice.

The young witch nodded her head and gave Kol a quick kiss before leaving the room with the blonde Original.

"So, Bonnie," Rebekah said as they walked through the mansion. "Would like to come dress shopping with me?" she asked with what seemed like a hopeful smile.

"Sure. Sounds fun," Bonnie smiled back.

"Great!" She replied. "There is something I would like to ask you."

"Shoot."

"Well… I have someone in mind that I would like to bring to Mother's ball but I don't think he would agree to come with me without a bit of coaxing from someone he trusts." She explained.

"And just who is it you're talking about?" Bonnie asked curiously.

The youngest Original seemed to hesitate for a moment before answering. "Matt."

Bonnie nearly choked on her saliva when she mentioned Matt. She honesty thought that she would have said Tyler or someone else. "Matt?"

Rebekah nodded her head. "I've become quite interested in him. He seems sweet." She answered with a childish smile.

"Matt is a really good guy, too good for his own good sometimes," Bonnie said.

"I like that about him. It's a change from what I usually go for." Rebekah said before turning back to Bonnie with a hopeful smile. "Will you help?"

Bonnie didn't exactly want to set Matt up with Rebekah. Not that Bonnie thought she wasn't good enough for him but because she didn't want to risk his safety and like her, he's not too fond of vampires either. "I'll see what I can do." Bonnie answered.

Rebekah smiled brightly before hugging the witch. Bonnie was surprised at first but eventually relaxed and returned the hug. The pulled away from each other and Bonnie noticed that she had lead them outside where a large pool glowed and the two sat on some chairs by the water.

"Would you tell me about him?" she asked Bonnie.

"Matt is very independent, he practically grew up without his mother and his father left them. His older sister died last year so it's just him now. When he's not at school he is working. He's got a hard life but he is one of the best people you could ever hope to know."

"How did his sister die?" Rebekah asked.

"Damon turned her into a vampire and then Stefan staked her because she attacked Elena," she informed her and the vampire scoffed.

"Another life lost to the doppelganger," she said, her voice sour.

"He's a little iffy around vampires, he freaked when he discovered Caroline was one and it's why they are no longer together so I can't guarantee that he will agree to this," Bonnie said, ignoring her previous comment.

"Because of his sister?"

Bonnie nodded her head. "Mostly yeah."

"I'm sorry if I embarrassed you earlier… with my comment." Rebekah said.

Bonnie shook her head and laughed a little. "It's fine."

"Kol really likes you. I've never seen him this way with anyone." The green eyed witch looked to Rebekah, practically pleading with her not to continue. "He nearly threw Nik through a wall while you and Lucy were with my mother," she continued with a humorous laugh.

"He what?" Bonnie asked with wide eyes. "Why?"

"One of Nik's favourite past times is riling up Kol and lately it's very easy for him to do so if he mentions you in the conversation." Rebekah told her. "Nik jokingly asked Kol if he were open to sharing you and well… Kol obviously is not interesting in sharing," she said. "I guess that little comment caused Kol to go stake his claim or whatever it is men do," she rolled her eyes.

Rebekah was quite for a moment before turning serious. "If you haven't noticed by now, Kol is very intense gets into things really quickly and if something between you two does ever go extremely wrong and well I'm sure this will never happen but I do want to warn you. I'll use Nik as an example. When Nik is angered he lashes out by straight up killing and physical pain whereas Kol favours the more emotional side of torture. He'd rather break his victims mentally and emotionally rather than physically. I guess I'm just trying to warn you in case something happens but I'm sure it won't he practically adores you." Rebekah explained, placing a comforting hand on Bonnie's arm. "I hope I'm not scaring you off."

Bonnie shook her head and thanked Rebekah for the warning as the two headed back inside. This was the second time tonight that she had been warned about Kol, both by members of his own family.

Everything tonight had confused the hell out her. She had Kol who was being nothing but sweet to her but then had his family warning her of him. Bonnie shook off all the thoughts, it would be all over soon and she'd have nothing to worry about.

The two went back into the room and Bonnie saw Lucy putting on her coat.

"Hey, you ready to go?" she asked when she saw Bonnie.

Bonnie nodded and Kol made his way over to her, coat in hand and helped her into it.

They said their goodbyes to the Originals and Elijah and Kol walked them out.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" Kol asked and opened the car door for her.

"Sure. But I do have school tomorrow so maybe in the afternoon?"

"Sounds good," he replied and kissed her softly before she got in the car.

"Thank god that is over," Lucy muttered once they pulled out of the driveway and Bonnie silently agreed.

* * *

Bonnie and Lucy arrived home just before midnight, only to be met by a figure on the porch. When the lights of Lucy's car shone on the porch they were relieved that is was only Caroline. Neither Bennett wanted to deal with a visit from the Salvatore's right now.

"Care, what are you doing here so late?" Bonnie asked when she got out of the car.

Caroline walked over to Bonnie and looked over her attire. "Where have you two come from?" she asked curiously.

"Uhh… we were at Kol's" she answered truthfully. "They asked us over there for kind of a peace offering," she said.

Caroline made an 'o' shape with her mouth but said nothing.

Lucy noticed the obvious tension between the two girls so she decided to give them some space. Bidding a quick goodbye to the friendly blonde vampire, Lucy made her way inside the house.

"I'm sorry for how I acted today," Caroline said when Lucy walked inside. "It's just your my best friend and I would hate to see you get hurt and when I saw you with Kol I kind of went all Hulk-Caroline. I'm sorry."

Bonnie said nothing but pulled her friend into a hug, Caroline instantly hugging back. She'd never been mad at Caroline in the first place. She'd been grateful for Caroline's protectiveness but Bonnie just wished that the blonde wasn't always so blunt with her dislike towards something.

"I guess I just freaked when I saw you with a vampire. I know you haven't been treated well by them in the past. I just got protective." Caroline said.

"I don't want you to be mad at me for this but I really like him, Care." Bonnie confessed to her friend, holding her tighter.

It was that moment that Bonnie realised that she wasn't sure if she was lying or not anymore.


	14. Too Late To Turn Back

"I cannot believe that you actually want to go to school," Rebekah said to Kol as they drove towards the high school. The one place that Rebekah was so show Kol would never show his face unless he wanted a snack.

Kol simply shrugged his shoulders and didn't give his sister an answer. Going to school was not his ideal situation but he finds himself being so terribly bored at home with nothing to do and driving his brothers insane was becoming old so why not drive some other people insane? Kol believed that the school would be [full](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/14/Fool_Me_One_Fool_Me_Twice) of entertainment. And he would get to spend more time with Bonnie, something he was also pleased to do, especially after last night.

Last night had been somewhat of an eye opener for Kol. Bonnie was special and she was special to him. He enjoyed watching her interact with his family, it was no secret that Rebekah was his favourite and the fact that she and Bonnie got along well made Kol happy. Although, his favourite part of the evening occurred behind closed doors in his bedroom, she was certainly a sight when she was coming undone in his arms. The memories alone were sending jolts of pleasure through him.

Kol would not lie, Bonnie meant a lot to him. He cared deeply for her and if ever given the chance, he truthfully believed that he could fall for her – if he wasn't already. And he was.

The realisation alone was enough for him to smile. It'd been a long time since he'd fallen for someone and he swore he'd never go through it again but he believed that this time it was worth it. He had found something special and he planned on holding on to it.

[The only](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/14/Fool_Me_One_Fool_Me_Twice) downside was that sooner or later, he'd have to reveal his past to Bonnie. If it were up to him he'd never mention anything about it to her, what he was/is like, what he's done but she was smart. Either she'd stumble across something or one of his family members would let it slip (if they hadn't already). Kol had hurt a lot of people in his time but he honestly believed that he couldn't hurt Bonnie.

Nik had always believed love to be a vampire's greatest weakness, but all his siblings knew that was the bitterness inside of him talking. Kol may have been burnt before but he believed that if the love was real, it would be their greatest strength and after [a thousand years](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/14/Fool_Me_One_Fool_Me_Twice) on earth it gave them a purpose, something to live for and something to fight for.

A rather hard punch to the arm broke him from his thoughts. He snapped his head around to glare at Bekah. "What the hell was that for?"

"I've been trying to get your attention for over a minute. [God](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/14/Fool_Me_One_Fool_Me_Twice), you were so deep in thought I thought your head was going to explode."

Kol rolled his eyes at his sister's insult and turned his head to look out [the window](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/14/Fool_Me_One_Fool_Me_Twice), noticing they had arrived at the school.

"I still cannot believe that you are going through with this," the female Original mumbled as the two got out of her car. "Sure this has nothing to do with Bonnie?" She asked with a smirk.

"So what if it does?" Kol answered with a shrug, scanning the faceless people in search for her. "Besides, I have to do something to pass the time otherwise I'll go mad."

"Too late for that," Rebekah muttered to herself while keeping an eye out for Matt. "By the way, Bonnie, Elena and Caroline usually hang around over there before class starts," she told him and pointed over at a set of benches that were scattered around the front of the school.

Kol looked across the benches in hopes to find her but alas she was nowhere to be seen.

"Bonnie is rarely here this early," Rebekah spoke up after seeing the disappointment cross her brother's face. "But after I take you to the office and we get you enrolled and everything I'll take you to her locker," she compromised with her brother before leading him off in the direction of the office.

* * *

Bonnie took her time getting ready for school the next morning. She wasn't in any rush and she really didn't have the motivation for school today but the last thing she needed right now was the school ringing up her father and informing him of her slipping grades and absences. He'd be back here in a heartbeat if that happened and Bonnie might have had a bit of trouble explaining the cousin he'd never met or heard of before that had taken up residence in their guest room.

Sleep had been hard to come by last night and she was now exhausted. Her mind had been too busy trying to un-jumble the mess that was her head and every one of those problems had something to do with a certain Original vampire.

Bonnie had been somewhat disturbed by the realism of her confession to Caroline last night. She could not deny that there was a part of her that genuinely liked Kol and enjoyed his company but she chose not to dwell on that side considering what was to come. Whatever Esther had planned, she had better do it quick because Bonnie could not afford to let any possible feelings get in the way.

The young witch did the best she could to push all thoughts of Kol to the back of her mind as she threw a quick goodbye to Lucy in the kitchen and left the house.

Bonnie arrived at the school with a few minutes to spare, weaving her way through the herds of students to get to her locker.

"Good morning, Beautiful," she heard Kol's voice whisper in her ear when she was sorting through her locket, nearly giving her a heart attack.

"Oh, my God, you scared the crap out of me," she said and turned around to hit him on the chest. "What are you doing here?" she asked him after getting her heart rate under control.

Kol had a humorous smile on his face but there was something in his eyes that scared the crap out of Bonnie. She'd seen it before; she'd seen it in Tyler's eyes when he looked at Caroline, in Stefan's eyes when he looked at Elena and even a few times in Jeremy's eyes when he looked at her.

Adoration.

Under any other circumstances, Bonnie would have been flattered but considering the current circumstances, it made her sick to her stomach.

This was all so wrong.

Kol reached into his pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper and handed it to her. She took it and smoothed it out, eyes widening when she saw what it was.

"You enrolled in school?" she asked, surprised. "Why; and how old are you anyway?"

"Physically I'm nineteen but as of today, eighteen. And as for the why… well I got bored wreaking havoc at home so why not do it somewhere else?" he answered with a shrug.

"How thoughtful of you," she sarcastically replied and turned back to her locker. The bell rang just as she grabbed the right book out of her locker and turned back to face Kol. "I got to get to class. Don't cause too much trouble today," she said and leant up to give him a chaste kiss.

"Where are you going?" he asked as she turned to walk away.

Bonnie looked at him confused before replying. "To class, I just told you that."

"But I'm new. I need someone to show me around," he said with a small pout.

"I'm sure you'll be just fine," she replied with a smile and blowing him a kiss before walking away.

The young witch got to class and took her seat, Caroline soon occupying the one next to her.

"Are you coming over tonight?" Caroline asked as she sorted her books.

"I would but Damon and Stefan want to talk to me and Lucy. Don't know what about yet but they said it was important." What she said was only half a lie. She did know what the Salvatore's wanted. A progress report of last night, something she was not looking forward to sharing.

She just wanted this entire thing to go away.

Caroline's eyes narrowed slightly. "You four seem to meet up a lot. Are you planning something?"

Bonnie shook her head, no. "It's probably about what was inside the coffin. Still haven't found it yet. I'll try and drop by after. It shouldn't take long anyway."

* * *

The day flew by rather quickly and Bonnie had barely seen Kol all day but his presence had unnerved her friends. Caroline and Elena in particular, Stefan seemed more pleased than unnerved and Alaric was just concerned and annoyed. He already had one Original vampire in his history class, he didn't want another.

Bonnie made her way to her car, planning on going straight to the Salvatore Boarding house but that would have to wait seeing as Kol was leaning against her car.

"Can I help you with something?" she asked when she reached him.

"I believe that you can," he replied then hooked his finger through the belt loop of her jeans and pulled her towards him, crashing his lips to hers in a hungry kiss. "After last night, I want you more than ever right now," he muttered against her mouth before biting down on her bottom lip causing her to let out a small moan.

"Oh Kol, keep that for the bedroom and not the school parking lot," Rebekah's voice interrupted them.

Kol turned to look at his sister and growled. "Go away, Rebekah."

The blonde Original rolled her eyes. "If you're not at the car in five minutes then you're walking home," she said to him and turned to leave after shooting Bonnie a friendly smile.

"She's so annoying," Kol groaned and leant his forehead against Bonnie's.

"But she's right. I don't really want to do anything here," she said with a tiny laugh.

"But you do want to do something?" he questioned and his smirk widened when she looked up and glared at them. "Your words," he defended himself.

"You know what I mean," she mumbled, feeling a light blush creeping up. Even just simply talking about sex was something that was new to her and how easily she got embarrassed about it annoyed the crap out of her.

Kol on the other hand loved how easily flushed she got when he mentioned anything sexual, he found it adorable. He knew she wasn't ready to go all the way and he wasn't going to push her but making her blush was something he wasn't about to stop doing.

* * *

Bonnie pulled up at the boarding house a little while later. She and Kol had spoken a little more before he had to get back to his sister before she left without him.

The witch didn't bother knocking and just let herself in, calling out for either Salvatore.

"In here!" Damon answered and she followed his voice into the parlour where he, Stefan and Lucy sat waiting for her.

"What took you so long?" Stefan asked her as she sat down next to Damon.

"Kol," was all she answered.

"Mmm, Stefan told me he showed up at the school today," Damon said. "Anyway, how did last night go?" he asked the two witches.

"Surprisingly alright," Lucy answered. "And we have some good news."

"Finally," Damon groaned out in satisfaction. "Lay it on us."

"Well; first things first, we know who was in the coffin. Some knew longer than others," Lucy said and shot a look to Bonnie. "It was there mother, Esther, The Original Witch."

"Klaus' mother was in the coffin? How is that possible? Didn't Klaus kill her?" Stefan questioned, shocked by the news.

"He did but as it turns out our ancestor Ayanna was a close friend of Esther and preserved her body in the coffin. Spelling it shut so only someone of her bloodline could open it," the older Bennett explained to the vampires.

"Your family has a history with the Originals?" Damon asked.

"Apparently," Bonnie replied with a shrug.

"Does Esther want to kill Klaus?" Stefan questioned.

"Not just Klaus but her entire family. Esther sent Bonnie those dreams about Kol in hopes that she would do… well what she's doing now. She needed Bonnie to have an in with the family so she could work with us without raising their suspicion of her intentions. As far as they know she just wants to be a family again but she is planning on harnessing the power of our entire line as well as the full moon to turn her children human and then Finn will sacrifice himself. Ending the Originals," Lucy fully explained.

The last bit was new information to Bonnie as well. She knew what Esther was planning but not how she planned to go about it. So not only was Finn willing to kill his siblings but to kill himself to make it so.

"So that's it?" Damon asked.

"That's it," Lucy confirmed.

Damon then turned his attention to Bonnie. "And how are you going with Kol? Any progress?"

Bonnie let out a dry laugh. "Yeah, you could say that. I just can't wait til this whole thing is over."

"You and me both, baby. I want that Original gone and away from you," Lucy said with a frown.

Ever since last night, Lucy has a horrible feeling brewing in the pit of her stomach. Everything just seemed too easy. A spell and a sacrifice and that will end the Originals? Not to mention Klaus or one of them will pick up on something eventually but her main concern was Bonnie. Esther's words about Kol had been on a constant loop in her mind and right now her number one instinct was to protect Bonnie.

Lucy gave them a bit more information on the previous night and everything that Esther had told her (minus the bit about needing Elena's blood. That they don't need to know just yet).

While Lucy spoke, Bonnie started to feel uneasy and anxious. She kept thinking back to the time she spent with Kol and how there is no more denying that there is something there because there is and they both know it and now Bonnie's just supposed to help kill him and then move on her with life? How does that work out?

But there was nothing she could do. No matter which way you looked at it, it was too late. It was too late to just stop seeing and Kol and turn her back on what Damon and Stefan had planned and it was too late to turn her back on what Esther had put in motion.

Then there was the possibility that Kol would figure it all out and kill her.

Either way, she was in far too deep to turn her back on either side. All she could do was wait and see. Wait and see who remained alive after this and who dies.


	15. Overwhelming Emotions and Change of Mind

Bonnie's room was dark and dead silent as Damon Salvatore waited for his young witchy friend to return home from wherever she went to after their little meeting. He didn't want to confront her about something earlier but he did not want to do it with Lucy and Stefan around.

The blue-eyed vampire was concerned for her. He noticed how edgy and anxious she became when Lucy told them everything that happened at the Originals mansion. Her heart rate increased and she had been chewing on her lip (something he learnt she did when she was either nervous or deep in thought).

He knew something was wrong and he wanted to know what.

Damon prayed that it only had to do with the nervous of possibly being caught out before everything went down and not something worse, something like possible feelings.

Hopefully when Bonnie returned she could put his worries to rest.

He hadn't had to wait long before he heard the front door [open](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/15/Fool_Me_One_Fool_Me_Twice) and close downstairs and the sound of her footsteps walking up the stairs and in his direction.

"Evening," he greeted her calmly when she switched the lights on. "You're home awfully late on a school night," he playfully scolded her causing her to roll her eyes as she threw her bag on her desk chair and slipped her coat off.

"What are you doing here, Damon?" she asked and looked at the vampire who was lounging comfortably on her bed as if it where his own.

"Just checking up. You have me a little concerned after today," he said and sat up to lean against the headboard.

"What about?"

"You know what about, Bonnie. I hope you're better hiding your emotions from Kol and the Originals then you are from us."

"Damon, what are you talking about?" she asked him although they both knew exactly what he was talking about.

Whether or not she was a liability…

She couldn't be could she? Sure she held some uncertainty about the [current](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/15/Fool_Me_One_Fool_Me_Twice) situation but that didn't mean she would screw it up.

She hoped not.

"Bonnie… just talk to me, what's going on?" he asked.

"I just feel bad is all," she sighed and sat on the edge of the bed.

"What about? Ridding the world of a bunch of monsters?"

"No. I feel bad about betraying someone's trust. Believe or not, Damon but trying to make someone fall in love with you just so you and can kill them and their family is kind of hard to do and it is kind of hard for me to believe that I am doing it. Doesn't matter who or what they are, I still have a heart and I still feel bad about it," Bonnie cried out in hysterics, her outburst leaving Damon stunned.

He got off the [bed and](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/15/Fool_Me_One_Fool_Me_Twice) walked around to kneel before her and took her face in his hands. "Hey, I get it. I really do. I know we are asking too much of you with this but we have no other choice. In the end this is for the best." Damon wiped a single tear from her eye. "Come here," he whispered and pulled her into a hug, his chin resting atop of her head and his hand ran up and down her back soothingly.

"I'm scared, Damon, I really am," she whispered her confession into his shoulder.

It was then when Damon began to regret the decision he made. He wished he and Stefan didn't force Bonnie into this because he wasn't sure if he could protect her if things went wrong and based on their past experience, something is bound to go wrong.

The truth was that all of them were scared, Damon and Stefan included but they were just better at hiding it.

Damon loosened his hold on Bonnie when she calmed down a bit. "You okay now?" he asked and pushed some hair away from her face.

Bonnie nodded and wiped her damp eyes. "Things are such a mess right now," she said and let out a humourless laugh. "I wish I could tell Caroline and Elena," she admitted. Bonnie needed her two best friends now more than ever and she felt like she was ignoring them. She hated it.

"I know you do but we have to keep who knows to a minimum but I am planning on telling Alaric. We need another set of hands on board especially considering that Kol had turned up at the school and he'll help keep an eye on you," he told her.

Help keep an eye on her? His words made her feel like she was a child that needed constant supervision.

Damon soon after left to head over to Alaric apartment so he could tell him everything and when he was gone, Bonnie fell backwards onto her bed, praying for sleep to hit her but something hit her window instead.

Bonnie shot up and nearly screamed when she saw Kol at the window, motioning for her to let him inside.

"You can't knock on the door like a normal person?" She scolded him when she opened her window to let him in.

"Where's the fun in that?" he questioned with a quick grin before he turned serious. "Why was Damon Salvatore here?"

Bonnie felt the blood drain from her face and became overwhelmed with dread. Did Kol overhear what they she and Damon were talking about?

"What do you mean?"

"When I got here I saw him leave and even if I didn't I can smell him all over your room," he told her and closed the distance between them, "and on you."

So he hadn't overheard what they said. The young witch could feel the relief wash over her, hell, she welcomed it.

"He was just checking up on me," she said to him.

"Then why does it smell like he was all over you?" he asked accusingly.

"He gave me a hug," she like it was no big deal because it wasn't a big deal.

"Why?"

Bonnie rolled her eyes out of frustration before she replied. "Well, hugging is the friendly thing to do and we are friends; he was concerned about me so he checked up on me. That's all."

"Nik and Elijah told me you hated Damon."

"Yes, because your brothers are the experts on my personal life," she sarcastically replied. "Damon and I may not have gotten along all that well in the past but we've gotten over that now. I could never even look at him romantically and he is still hung up on Elena so if you're worried about possible competition you can put those worries to rest. Hell will freeze over before Damon and I ever get involved," she said and sat back down on her bed. "Can we just drop this already?" she pleaded with him.

Kol studied her for a moment before noticing her slightly puffy and red eyes and flushed complexion. "You've been crying," he stated in a soft voice and sat down beside her, taking her face in his hands.

"It's nothing," she replied and pulled away from his grasp. "It's just been a bit of an emotional day," she added and wiped away any remaining dampness from around her eyes.

"It that why Salvatore was here?" he asked but this time without the accusatory tone. "You could have called me if you were upset," he said after she nodded her head.

The Original didn't like that Bonnie chose to confide in Damon rather than himself. Jealously didn't even come close to describing how he felt about that.

"Can we please talk about something else?" Bonnie asked. She was desperate for a change of topic, something to distract her from everything at hand.

Kol nodded, accepting her wishes and pulled her onto his lap. "Do you have anything planned for the rest of the evening?" he asked and placed a quick kiss to her lips. "Because it has occurred to me that I am still yet to take you on a… date," he said with just a hint of awkwardness at the word 'date' and Bonnie had to bite her lip to stop herself from giggling. She thought it was cute.

"And is this your way of asking me on a date?" She asked and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"It could be," he replied, slowly sliding his hands up and down her sides, his fingertips every now and then brushing softly against the small bit of exposed skin from where her shirt had ridden up.

Bonnie let out a soft sigh when Kol's hands slid under her shirt and she soon found that she loved the feel of his calloused hands on her soft skin.

"Can I take this off?" he asked and tugged at her shirt. Bonnie bit her lip in a nervous manner before replying with a shy nod of the head. Kol gave her one of his rare genuine smiles before telling her to lift her arms up so he could remove the material from her body.

"God, you're beautiful," he admired before placing a kiss in the middle of her chest, her arms tightening around his neck when he moved down to kiss the top of her breast and every now and then nipping at the soft flesh.

His hand came to cup her left breast and kneaded and squeezed it gentle and smirked in accomplishment when he heard her inhale sharply as he bit down on her hardened nipple through the purple lace material of her bra.

"Kol," she breathed out and nearly moaned when he bit down again. "Take it off," she told him. She wanted his mouth and teeth on her skin, not on the fabric.

The Original lifted his head. "Are you sure?" he asked and smiled widely when Bonnie nodded. His hands slid up her back in a teasingly slow pace before unclasping her bra and sliding it down her arms and freeing her breasts but before he could even look she was pushing his jacket down his shoulders and lifting his shirt over his head.

His innocent little witch certainly let herself go behind closed doors.

Kol used his vampire speed to change their position. He soon had her lying on her bed as he hovered over her and lent down close enough so that their noses brushed. "You have no idea what you do to me," he said lowly and brushed his lips against hers. "You have no idea what you make me want to do to you," he kissed her again.

Bonnie could feel herself heating up at his words, his kisses and how his fingers had begun to rub her through her jeans. She could feel the wetness pooling between her legs and she wouldn't be surprised if he could feel it through the fabric of her jeans.

"In my mind I have taken you so many times in so many ways," he whispered and moved his lips from hers and they ghosted down her neck. "And I do plan on going through with every single one of them," he told her with a soft growl and pressed his fingers harder against her causing her hips to jerk.

"Kol," she pleaded with a whimper.

"Mmm… what is it? What do you want?" He asked and added some more pressure.

"Touch me," she breathed out. "Please."

Kol sat up and his hands went straight to the buttons and the zipper of her jeans and quickly tore them down her legs, underwear soon following. The vampire stood up and looked down at the naked beauty sprawled out before him.

"Kol!" she got his attention. "Please," she whispered but Kol remained still as he watched her own hand move down her body and came to rest between her legs. He smirked; she was so desperate for his touch that she would please herself until she got it.

"Keep going, Bonnie," he encouraged with a gentle tone. He watched as she slowly rubbed her middle finger up and down her slit. Kol's breathing quickened when she inserted a finger into herself. He couldn't stop himself from undoing his own and pants and stroking his now rock hard erection. "Add another finger, beautiful and go deeper. Pretend your fingers are mine, gliding deeper inside of you each time," he crooned and tightened his grip on his cock when her other hand started to message her breast.

"Kol," she moaned out and added a third finger.

"Do you want me to make you cum, beautiful?" he asked in a husky whisper when he noticed her struggling to keep the pace with her hand.

"God, yes," she replied.

Kol dropped to his knees in front of her spread legs, one hand each grabbing her legs and pulling her to the edge of the bed, his tongue immediately diving inside of her, his ears loving the sound of her surprised scream.

As his tongue moved in and out of her, one of his hands teased her folds while the other continued to stroke himself.

Bonnie's hands gripped the sheets below and she began to grind against his face. "Don't stop," she moaned. "So good." The witch nearly screamed when he pulled away from her. "Kol," she whined.

"Shh," he once again used his vampire speed to change their position. Kol was now seated with his back against the headboard and had Bonnie in his lap.

"What are you doing?" Bonnie asked as she tried to get some friction between her legs by rubbing against his thigh. "Kol, please just let me cum," Bonnie whined and lent down and took his nipple in her mouth and bit down hard, causing Kol to let out a moan of his own.

"How close are you?" he asked and smirked when she nearly sighed in relief when his fingers rubbed her.

"So close."

"How much do you want to cum?" he asked. He loved playing with her and now he wanted her to beg for it.

Bonnie nearly growled at him, she needed to cum so badly but he wouldn't let her. "Kol, please stop teasing," she begged and grabbed his wrist and tried to make his hand move against her core.

It took him all of a second to have her back on her back and her legs spread wide, a pleasured scream escaping her lips when his tongue and a finger entered her.

"God, Kol… don't stop… feels so good…" she moaned out and tangled a hand in his hair and tried to bring him closer to her. She could feel herself losing control and the need to release became overwhelming.

Kol's free hand came up to tweak and pinch one of her nipples as he removed his tongue and added two more fingers, thrusting them deeper and harder. He could feel her tightening around his fingers before she finally let go and came around his fingers with a loud moan. The Original brought his head back down licked up her juices with a satisfied moan.

Kol sat back up against the head board and brought Bonnie with him. "That was so good," she muttered against his lips.

Kol smiled at Bonnie before he brought his hand (that was still covered with her cum) to his still hard cock and covered it with her arousal as he stroked it

"Can I?" Bonnie asked shyly and bit her lip as she watched him pleasure himself.

Kol smiled lovingly at her and removed his hand. "Absolutely."

He watched as she slowly and very gently wrapped her hand around him and beginning to move her hand up and down. Kol's eyes closed as he leant his head against the headboard. "Tighten your grip a bit, beautiful," he told her and let out a groan when she did what he said. "Yeah… that's it. A little faster," he guided and he was pleased to find that she was a quick learner.

Kol brought his head down to rest in the crook of her neck and his hands gripped her hips tightly when he felt himself nearing completion. Between the smell of her arousal that was still thick in the air, the feeling of her hand around his erection to the smell of the blood just beneath the surface of her skin, he could feel the veins forming around his eyes and his newly descended fangs lightly scraped her skin causing her movements to still.

"Keep going, beautiful, I'm not going to hurt you," he said with a desperate voice. He needed her hand to keep moving, he was so close. "I'm never going to hurt you." Kol added and then sighed out in relief when her hand started moving again.

He felt himself tense up before he released his seed onto her hand, "You're amazing, Bonnie," he panted before relaxing back against the head board and holding her to his chest and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Can we get under the covers?" Bonnie asked a few minutes later and after her body temperate had cooled down.

The two of them got under the covers and she rested her head on his chest as one of his arms wrapped around her.

"So, what were you saying about a date?" Bonnie asked with a laugh.

"I guess we got a little carried away," Kol grinned. "How about tomorrow night?"

"Sounds good," she said and kissed his chest. "Will you stay the night?" she asked him with what sounded like a hopeful voice.

"Of course I will," he said and kissed her forehead again.

Kol gently played with Bonnie's hair and once he was sure she was sound asleep, he softly kissed her cheek before whispering in her ear.

"I think I'm falling for you, Bonnie Bennett."

xxx

Bonnie and Kol were standing on her front porch after their date. "Did you enjoy tonight?" he asked as they stood in front of the door.

Bonnie nodded her head and smiled. "I loved it. Thank you," she replied and kissed his cheek.

"Here, before I forget," he said and reached into one of his coat pockets and pulled something out. "Mother wished for me to give you this," he said and handed her an off white envelope with her name written in perfect cursive script.

"What's this?" she asked him as she looked over it.

"It is the official invitation to the ball that she has decided to throw Saturday evening. She's sending the rest out within the next few days," he answered. "And Rebekah has asked me to ask you if you would like to go dress shopping with her," he said as if it were the most ridiculous thing in the world, which to him it was. "But I should tell you that it's not so much of a question as it is a request. You really have no say in the matter, she'll make you skip school on Friday to go with her," he added with a grin.

"Sounds fun," Bonnie replied with a smile before she let out a light gasp when Kol grabbed her by the hips and pulled her against him. Bonnie's hands went to his shoulders when he pulled her into a passion filled kiss.

"What was that for?" Bonnie asked breathlessly after he pulled away.

"Couldn't help it, you just tempt me," he said and kissed her again.

xxx

Friday came around quicker than expected and Rebekah had successfully talked Bonnie into skipping school to go dress shopping with her.

Bonnie never thought that dress shopping with Rebekah could turn into such an exhausting experience but it certainly was. The female Original had dragged the witch into nearly every fashion boutique in towns from up to two hours outside of Mystic Falls in search for the perfect dress for both of them (Bonnie had already come across a handful of dresses that she considered perfect but Rebekah thought otherwise) and even though Bonnie was enjoying the time with Rebekah, the witch found a new appreciation for Caroline because not even she was this crazy when it came to shopping but given that Rebekah had been in a coffin for ninety years and been on the run from her father for a thousand, she could look past it.

"How about this one?" Bonnie asked and held up another dress for the Original to inspect.

Rebekah only glanced at it for a second before replying. "Nope."

"This one?" she held up another dress. "Or maybe this one?"

"Okay, now you're just picking up random dresses," Rebekah said as she moved away from the rack she was looking through and went over to a different one. "Now this one I could definitely see you in," she said and held up an emerald green strapless gown with a black embroidery pattern on the bodice. "You should try it on," she added and handed Bonnie the dress to try on.

"I don't know about this one, Beckah," Bonnie said as she came out of the fitting room with the dress on. "It feels fine but looks like it doesn't fit properly," she added as she inspected the dress more closely through the mirror.

"It does look a little big," Rebekah confirmed as she came over to stand next to Bonnie. "We should get you something that is tighter around the torso," she walked over to another rack and held up a champagne coloured dress with a long, tulle skirt and silk corset-type top that had diamantes down the middle and across the bust line. "Something like this!"

Bonnie was nearly in awe of the dress that Rebekah picked out. It was completely gorgeous. Bonnie took the dress from the blonde Original and took it to the fitting room to try it on and when she came out, she had a huge smile on her face. "I love this one!"

When Rebekah turned around to see it, she was nearly speechless. "It's perfect," she told her friend with a smile. "It looks so beautiful on you and Kol will definitely love you in it," she added and Bonnie felt her smile drop just a little bit.

Rebekah had just used the two words Bonnie never wanted to associate together; Kol and love.

"What's wrong? Did I say something?" Rebekah questioned after noticing Bonnie's slight change. Bonnie shook her head and turned back to the mirror and Rebekah sighed. "Is this about Kol?" she asked.

Bonnie shook her head again. "Not Kol… me," she said and went to sit on one of the plush couches in the dressing room. "I shouldn't like him as much as I do," she confessed and began to nervously twist the ring around her finger that she always wore.

"Why? Is it because you're a witch and he's a vampire? Or because he's an Original and Nik's brother or because he's killed people?" Rebekah asked and went to sit next to her.

"All of the above and maybe some extra," Bonnie replied, thinking of the main reason but that was something she was definitely not going to tell Rebekah about.

"Can I tell you want I think?" Rebekah asked and Bonnie nodded. "I think you two are good for each other. No offence but when I first met you I thought you were a little uptight, boring and tense, which I can understand why, but when I saw you around Kol you were different, you might not have noticed it but my family did. Nik and Elijah said they had never even seen you smile before that night. And you make him act less like a child which I am personally grateful for." She said with a light hearted laugh at the end.

"I really love the way I feel around him… the way he makes me feel," Bonnie said with a tiny smile and she looked up when she felt Rebekah place a hand on her arm.

"If you feel that way then I don't understand why you are worried."

Maybe because I'm plotting to kill you all with your mother and there is a possibility that it can go completely wrong.

"I don't want to get hurt and I don't exactly want to hurt him either," Bonnie said to Rebekah.

"Bonnie, trust me when I say that Kol would never hurt you," Rebekah said with a smile.

"So that's a yes to this dress?" Bonnie asked and stood up.

Rebekah rolled her eyes at the obvious topic change but replied anyway. "A definite yes."

"So, are you going to ask Matt to the ball?" Bonnie asked while they were searching for shoes and accessories to go with their dresses.

"I'm going to try but a little help wouldn't hurt," she replied with a hopeful grin.

"I'm sure he'll say yes but if not I will gladly talk him into it," Bonnie said back as she tried a pair of heels on.

"Could you imagine you and Kol and me and Matt on a double date?" Rebekah giggled.

"Oh yes, I can just imagine Kol sitting through that," Bonnie replied back sarcastically. "It would be fun though; Kol is quite good at planning dates."

"Well he did have some help from me," Rebekah told her as she looked through the collection of necklaces. "We should try to convince them. It would be entertaining to watch Kol and Matt together. This has to happen now. I can't get the idea out of my mind."

Soon enough, they had shoes and jewellery to go with their dresses (although Rebekah did have to compel the boutique owner to keep the store open until they finished) and they were on their way back to Mystic Falls.

xxx

Bonnie and Rebekah returned to the Mikaelson mansion later that evening and Rebekah had even managed to convince Bonnie to spend the night at the mansion (the witch was still at a loss to how she agreed to it) and when the two stopped off at Bonnie's house to get some of her things, Lucy certainly was not happy with the news.

Kol had met the two girls at the front door when they arrived and took the bags from her hands (after placing a kiss on her lips that caused Rebekah to smile like a mad woman).

"Now, if you two will excuse me, I need to inform Nik that I maxed out two of his credit cards," Rebekah said with a sly grin.

The blonde Original had taken her brother's credit cards to pay for everything they brought today, she said that it was the least he could do for leaving her in a coffin for ninety years and she had gone out of her way to spend as much money as she could.

"Now you know what torture is like – going shopping with Bekah," Kol joked after he led her to his room after and placed the bags on the bed while she hung up the dress bag in Kol's wardrobe.

"No, it was fun," she said and fell backwards onto the bed. "She tired me out though."

Kol went over to lie next to her, propped up on his side as he watched over her and pushed some hair out of her face. "So Rebekah tells me that you have decided to stay here tonight," he said with a cheeky grin and Bonnie rolled her eyes at the sometimes childish Original.

"Whatever is going through your mind you can push it out now because it's not happening," she told him and he pouted.

"Shame, I had a lot of fun things in mind," he said.

Bonnie once again rolled his eyes and pushed him before getting up from the bed.

"Where're you going?" he whined.

"I'm going to have a shower," she answered and walked into his bathroom and removed her shirt before turning the shower on. "Are you coming or what?" she asked in a normal voice and within a second he was behind her and undoing her jeans. Bonnie giggled and pushed his hands away from her. "We're not doing anything, not with your family around with their super hearing," she said and turned around to face him.

"I still get to see you naked though so I'm not complaining," he grinned and kissed her deeply.

Their lips only parted when Bonnie lifted his shirt over his head before they connected again and she continued to unbutton his jeans and she wasn't at all surprised to discover that he didn't wear anything underneath them.

Soon, Bonnie's clothing soon joined the pile of clothes on the bathroom floor and Kol led her into the shower. The two of them still kissing as the water sprayed over them, drenching them within seconds.

Neither of them had bothered to put clothes on after their shower and they slipped under the covers of Kol's bed, lips reattaching straight away in another deep and passionate kiss. Their tongues danced as their hands explored each other's bodies.

Bonnie felt completely relaxed and at ease and she didn't know how much later it was when they finally pulled away from each other.

Kol had fallen asleep before Bonnie had. She couldn't sleep, couldn't even close her eyes. There was just too much swimming around in her head. Every time she would close her eyes she would remember a moment with Kol or with Rebekah and it made her feel so much guilt.

Bonnie couldn't even tell herself that she had no feelings for Kol because she did have feeling for him.

For the first time in a while she finally felt happy and she felt like herself and it was because of Kol and now she had to let him die?

She couldn't do that. She had to find a way to save him.

xxx


	16. The Ball

Guests were already beginning to arrive at the Mikaelson mansion while Bonnie and Rebekah were still getting the finishing touches to their hair and make-up done before finally putting on their gowns.

Rebekah then left to go downstairs to see if Matt had arrived yet (who had earlier accepted her invitation to the ball) and Bonnie made her way to Kol's room to see if he was ready yet.

"Are you ready yet?" she asked and walked into his room to see him tying his bow tie in front of the [full](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/16/Fool_Me_One_Fool_Me_Twice) length mirror.

Kol finished tying it and opened his mouth to reply to her but when he turned around and saw her, no words came out. For the first time in a very, very long time, he was speechless.

"What is it?" she questioned after noticing him staring at her.

A smile tugged at the Original's lips as he walked towards her, taking her hand in his when he reached her. "You look so gorgeous," he said and kissed her hand.

"You're looking rather good yourself. Have I ever told you that I have a weakness for a guy in a tux?" she asked him with a cheeky grin.

"Mmm, is that so?" he questioned and she nodded. "Well, aren't you [lucky](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/16/Fool_Me_One_Fool_Me_Twice) that you get to have me all to yourself tonight?"

"How tempting that sounds," she replied and brushed her lips against his.

Kol gave her a devilish grin. "Let's get downstairs before I decide to lock you up and have my wicked way with you," he said and ran [a hand](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/16/Fool_Me_One_Fool_Me_Twice) down the front of her body before once again taking her hand and leading her out of his room and down the stairs to the party.

xxx

An hour into the ball and Bonnie had managed to separate herself from Kol long enough to get a dance with Matt, but even that didn't last long before another Original brother interrupted.

"Mind if I cut in?" Klaus' voice came from behind Bonnie while she was dancing with Matt. The two friends pulled away from each other and Matt had a concerned look on his face, not wanting to leave his friend with Klaus but Bonnie's reassuring nod to him caused him to let it go as he passed Bonnie over to Klaus who immediately took the witch in his arms as they began to dance.

Matt stood in the same spot for [a moment](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/16/Fool_Me_One_Fool_Me_Twice), wanting to make sure Bonnie was okay with Klaus but he was pulled back into a dance by Rebekah.

"Is she okay with Klaus?" Matt asked Rebekah, not being able to stop worrying about Bonnie dancing with Klaus.

He'd always felt protective over Bonnie. She was like a little sister to him.

"Nik won't hurt her; he just wants to talk. In fact, I believe he may have a bit of a soft spot for Bonnie," Rebekah answered as she looked over to where her brother and her newest friend were dancing.

xxx

"How are you enjoying your evening, love?" Klaus asked her as they begun to dance.

"It's been good; you and your family certainly know how to throw quite the party. You'll fit right in around here," she told him, referring to the many balls and parties that Mystic Falls held.

"I have to say, you are looking stunning tonight," he complimented her before twirling her around, smiling as she let out a tiny giggle.

"You're not looking too bad yourself," she said back to him with a cheeky grin.

Bonnie and Klaus continued to dance around the room before Klaus' expression turned from light hearted to more serious.

"I assume that Esther told you of Ayanna?" he questioned her and Bonnie nodded her head.

"My ancestor who was your mother's best friend and mentor," she answered him.

"I have a bit of a love hate relationship towards witches. My hate stems from my mother but the deep respect that I do feel for them comes from Ayanna," he said to her.

"You were close to her?"

Klaus nodded his head. "Very. She was more of a mother to me than Esther was," he confessed. "My mother and I were never really close."

"I kind of figured that when I learnt that you, you know, killed her," Bonnie said awkwardly and Klaus cracked a smile. "Why did you; if you don't mind me asking, that is?"

"Not at all; it was after she put the curse on me to supress my wolf side and after I learnt the truth about her affairs leading to my birth. She completely turned her back on me, would not even acknowledge me as her son," he told her.

"That's horrible," she frowned.

"Mikael also found out about her affair and when he tried to kill me for the very first time, she did nothing. Just sat there and watched…so when I got the chance, I ripped her heart from her chest."

"And blamed it on him," she finished for him and he nodded.

"I wanted my siblings, especially Rebekah and Elijah, to stay by my side and the only way I could do that was to tell them that Mikael was the one to kill her."

"And Ayanna was there for you through all that?" she asked him.

"She was. She even cloaked me from Mikael but when she passed away the spell faded."

"How did she die?"

"She died of old age. After everything with my family she moved on and started her own family. I even got to meet her child," he told her with a grin that soon faded. "Ayanna did not like what I had become but for some reason she still accepted me, I don't know why she did it but I am grateful that she did."

"My Grams used to always say that everyone deserves to have someone that cares for them no matter what."

"I met your Grams once, back in the seventies," he told her and her eyes widened.

"You met my Grams?"

"She certainly was a character. Sassy and fierce never fell for my charms or the charm of any vampire. You remind me a lot of her," he said and she smiled up at him.

Being told that she was like her Grams was a compliment that Bonnie loved. She could only ever dream to be as amazing as her Grams.

"I also don't fall for a vampire's charm," she joked.

"Unless it's my brother's," he replied and kissed her cheek before spinning her around and into Kol's waiting arms. "Enjoy the rest of the evening, love," he finished before wondering off to find another dance partner in the form of her bubbly blonde friend.

"Have I told you how stunning you look tonight?" Kol asked her as they started to dance.

"Only about five times already but it's always nice to hear," she replied and leant up to kiss him.

"Your cousin is glaring daggers at me," he told her and Bonnie looked up and saw that Lucy did indeed have her 'I want to kill you' look directed at Kol.

Bonnie let out a sigh before turning back to Kol. "I'm going to go talk to her. I'll be back soon," she said and kissed him once again before making her way to her older cousin, leading her out of the mansion.

xxx

Bonnie had led her cousin outside the mansion, far enough to avoid having to worry about eaves dropping vampires.

"What the hell is going on, Bonnie?" Lucy asked as soon as they came to a stop.

"I can't do it," she confessed to her cousin. "I can't kill Kol, or even Rebekah."

"You have feelings for him," Lucy stated and frowned when Bonnie gave her a small nod of the head. The older Bennett witch couldn't say that she was surprised by this, she had the feeling that it would come to this.

"You don't have a choice in the matter, Bonnie," she told her. "Esther is drawing power from our bloodline, living and dead, she's only asking for us to join her out of respect; she doesn't need us to do the spell so whether you like it or not the day after next, Kol will be dead," Lucy told Bonnie with an unintentionally harsh voice.

"There has to be something we can do that can save him, please, Lucy," Bonnie pleaded with her cousin.

Lucy knew that there was indeed something they could do to save Kol. Esther had told Lucy her full plan to link the Originals together by using a drop of blood from the doppelganger. If Kol didn't drink from the champagne at the toast later this evening then he would be spared from the spell.

"I'm sorry, Bonnie, but there is no way. Everything is already set in motion," she lied to Bonnie, her voice a little softer this time.

"I'm going to find a way," Bonnie said, more so to herself than to Lucy.

"There is no way, Bonnie," she repeated, a little firmer this time but Bonnie just seemed to ignore her.

"I don't want to let him die," Bonnie replied but couldn't help but feel completely hopeless.

"Too bad, B," Lucy shrugged. "It's going to happen whether you like it or not."

The older Bennett felt horrible for being so harsh with her but she needed to hear it. Lucy would make sure that Bonnie didn't find out about the link until after they drank from the champagne and when there really was nothing she could do about it.

xxx

As soon as Lucy made it back into the mansion she immediately sought out one of the Salvatore brothers, eyes first landing on Damon. Their eyes locked and she motioned him to follow her.

"Please don't tell me we have a problem," Damon said as soon as the two of them were alone. "I really can't handle any more bad news."

"Well suck it up, princess because we have a massive problem," she replied to him.

"Bonnie?" he asked and Lucy nodded her head.

"She doesn't want to go through with killing Kol," she told him and Damon threw his head back and cursed.

"Why the hell not?"

"She's got feelings for him," she said and watched the incredulous look cross the vampire's face. "I told her that there was nothing she could do, that Esther is drawing from our line and we couldn't stop it even if we wanted too."

"What do we do, Damon?"

Damon was thinking things over before he answered the older Bennett. "We make her want him to die."

"And how do we do that?" Lucy asked, doubtfully.

"I know a few things that she doesn't. A few things that I made sure that she didn't find out."

Damon was well aware that Kol was behind the death of Bonnie's friend, Daniel and attacked the other one whose name he never bothered to learn. Maybe he should have told her this to avoid a situation like this from happened but he felt she would have never continued on with this ruse had she known.

"Will that be enough?" Lucy asked him and the vampire's lips turned upwards in a sinister grin.

"If not, I have something else up my sleeve that will make her want to kill him herself," he replied to Lucy.

He needed to find Matt and Caroline.

xxx

When Kol found Bonnie, she was alone in his room, sitting on the chair by the balcony door.

"What are you doing in here?" he asked her as he walked further into the room, shutting the door behind him.

"Just needed to get away from it all," she replied in a small voice.

"What's wrong?" he asked and knelt down in front of her, taking her hands in his.

"Nothing," she answered but her wavering voice and rapid heartbeat gave her away.

"I can tell that you are lying to me. What's wrong?" he asked again and brought their faces closer together, their foreheads resting against each other.

Bonnie turned her face away from Kol's; she couldn't deal with any of this right now. She didn't want him to be sweet and tender with her after what was going to happen tomorrow night.

"I don't want to talk about it," came her reply as she tried to keep her emotions at bay.

"You never want to talk about it," he said back and pulled away from her. "Why don't you ever want to talk to me?" he asked and Bonnie could hear the hurt in his voice. "And now you won't even look at me," he added before taking a hold of her face and turning her to him, surprised to see the few tears that had leaked from her eyes. "Did I do something?"

Kol's thumb swiped over her cheek to remove the tears. Bonnie found herself turning into Kol's hand and laying a kiss to his palm. "No."

"Then what is it?"

She kissed him.

Her hands grabbed the side of his face as she crashed their lips together in a heated kiss, but Kol pulled away.

"What's gotten into you?" he asked. Not that he minded her jumping him; he would just prefer that she wasn't doing it to cover up something else.

"I just want to feel close to you," she mumbled embarrassedly. She found herself wanting to make the most out of the short amount of time they had left.

Kol smiled up at her. "You don't have to sleep with me to feel close to me… but there is something else," he told her and gave her a simple kiss.

"What is it?" Bonnie asked curiously.

Kol looked down at the ground for a moment before and when he looked back up at her she gasped. His eyes were now black and surrounding by veins and ran his tongue along a pair of very sharp looking fangs in a way that look very enticing to Bonnie.

Still on his knees in front of her, he leant up and whispered hotly into her ear and his fangs dragged against the shell of her ear. "We can exchange blood."

Against every better judgement that she had inside of her, she leant down and kissed him, his fangs lightly piercing her lip. "Okay," she murmured.

Kol (whose face had since gone back to normal) grinned at her and stood up, holding out his hand for her to take, pulling her up with him when she did.

Not wanting to spill any blood on their clothes, Bonnie pushed Kol's jacket off before unbuttoning his shirt, letting it join the jacket on the floor while Kol unzipped Bonnie's gown and watched it fall to a heap around her feet before he lifted her up, her legs wrapping around his waist and continuing their kiss.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked breathlessly against her lips as he sat on the bed.

"I'm sure," she answered and Kol turned her around so that her back was pressed against his chest.

"It might hurt a bit at first but just relax, it will feel good," he told her while he placed kisses along her neck. "I promise."

His fangs started to descend and he scraped them very gently across her flesh. "Relax," he breathed when he felt her heartbeat quicken from nerves.

Kol spent a few minutes trying to ease her into the feeling of his fangs on her neck between little nips and scrapes while his tongue soothed over the tiny cuts he made before he sunk his fangs in her neck as gently as he could and when her blood flooded his mouth, he wasn't able to supress his moan at her sweet tasting blood.

Bonnie let out a small pained sound at the first bite but the pain soon subsided. Her mouth opened in silent sounds of pleasure.

It was so different from when Damon bit her that one time. There was no overwhelming fear; she didn't feel like her throat was being torn out as her life was drained from her body.

Kol was gentle with her; he drank from her slowly as if he were savouring each mouthful while one of his hands traced up and down her body.

Kol pulled his fangs out of her neck long enough to bite into his own wrist and hold the bloody appendage to Bonnie's mouth, he expected her to hesitate but when she immediately latched on to it he couldn't help but smile.

She truly was perfect for him.

xxx

It didn't take long for Damon to find the quarterback still dancing with Caroline. Without so much as a word, Damon pulled Matt away from Caroline, pushing the blonde vampire into his brother's arms for a dance.

"What the hell?" Matt asked and tried to pull his arm out of the vampire's tight grip.

"I never thought that I would ever speak these words but I need your help," Damon said after he pushed the blonde boy into an empty room.

"You need my help?" Matt asked with confusion. "With what?"

"I need you to piss Kol off," Damon replied and Matt's eyes went wide.

"You want me to piss on an Original? Are you insane? He'll kill me!"

"No, he won't. I will be there before he can do any real harm to you," Damon told him and tried to keep him calm. "Matt, this is for Bonnie. We need to show her Kol's true colours."

"Why are you trying to break them up?" he asked the vampire. "What's the big deal about them being together? She's happy with him."

"It's not about that. Look, I will explain everything to you later but for now I just need you do to as I say and I say piss Kol off and I'll handle everything else but believe me when I say that this is for Bonnie's own good," Damon tried to explain to the younger male.

"Is she in danger?" Matt asked, concerned for his friend.

"The longer she stays with him, yes."

Matt let out a heavy sigh before finally nodding his head. "What do I have to do?"

xxx

"What was that about?" Caroline asked Stefan as she watched Damon drag Matt off.

"We need his help, both of your help actually," Stefan told Caroline as they continued to dance around the room.

"With what?" she asked curiously.

Stefan leaned down and spoke lowly into her ear so no one would hear. "Bonnie has been using Kol as a way to get close to the Originals. It was the only way that we could find a way to end them and we finally have."

"I knew that it was weird that she was suddenly all into him," Caroline replied with a thankful smile that her friend wasn't actually falling for an Original. "But why would she do that? It's not something that she would usually go for."

"It was mine and Damon's idea; we knew that Kol was interested in her. She didn't want to do it but we convinced her that it was for the best."

"Was it for the best?" Caroline questioned as the protectiveness for her friend came out. "You asked her to fool around with an Original's feelings; I doubt he's going to take it very well when he finds out."

"That's it though; tomorrow night, Esther is going to draw power from the Bennett line to destroy the Originals. He's never going to find out," Stefan told her with a victorious grin.

"Then why do you need our help?" she questioned him and watched as the grin dropped.

"Bonnie's fallen for him and now she doesn't want to go through with it," he said and the blonde vampire started to feel awful for her witch friend so she found herself twisting Stefan's wrist around, breaking it in the process and relinquishing in the sound of his bones cracking and the very muffled cry of pain.

"What the hell, Caroline?" Stefan groaned as his wrist started to heal itself.

"You deserved that and a lot more," she glared at the younger Salvatore. "They might be the ones who die but Bonnie's going to be the one who gets hurt and right now she is the only one I care about in this situation."

"That is exactly why we need your help, if we make her hate him then she won't be hurt when he dies. That's why we need you and Matt. You're who she's closest to. If one of you got hurt by Kol she's never forgive him but if the one that got hurt was human and more vunrable she'd hate him a whole lot more," he explained to the blonde vampire.

"Matt," she whispered knowingly. "You want to use him as another pawn in your plan?"

"That is what Damon is talking to him about now and he agrees to this then that is that. It's happened," he said and Caroline scoffed.

"You want Matt to get himself attacked by an Original vampire?"

"No, we don't want it, we need it."

The baby vampire rolled her eyes at the older vampire but said nothing as she pulled herself away from Stefan and went to find Bonnie or Matt.

Caroline was starting to believe that the Salvatore's really didn't care about anyone but themselves and Elena. Everyone else was just another pawn in their crappy plans.

xxx

Kol placed one last kiss on Bonnie's neck as he finished zipping up her dress.

"I don't know if I can go back to drinking regular blood after drinking yours," he said to her and rubbed her shoulders.

"We should get back downstairs before your mother does the toast," Bonnie said as she fixed up her lightly messed up hair and ignored his blood comment.

"Before we do, there is something I want to give you," he said and went over to his dresser, pulling something out of one of the drawers before walking back over to her.

"Back in the early 1900s there was this girl that I fell in love with, I thought she was perfect but it turned out that she was far from it. She was only with me because I was a vampire and she wanted me to turn her…so I did…and as soon as the transition was complete she just left. Turned out that she never loved me and was only using me," he told Bonnie and let out a bitter laugh at the end. "Anyway, she ended up being really terrible at being a vampire, she turned into a ripper. During that time there was a witch that I was really close to, her name was Regina.

She was probably my best friend and when I told her what Amy had done, Regina tracked her down and staked her. Gina was really special to me," he finished with a smile. "And this was hers," he said, handing Bonnie a small box.

Bonnie took the box from Kol and her breath hitched when she opened it and saw the beautiful and delicate necklace that lay inside. "It's beautiful," she commented and took it out of the box. It was a long gold chain with a gold pendant with an ember crystal hanging off the end.

"I want you to have it," he told her, taking the necklace from her hand and moving to stand behind her so he could put it on her.

"Why?" Bonnie found herself asking him.

"Like I said, she was special to me," he said and his hand came around to light grasp her chin, turning her face to his so their lips could brush in such a sweet and tender kiss. "And so are you," he said softly against her lips.

"I love it, thank you," she smiled and gave him another kiss.

xxx

After his conversation with Damon, Matt found his way back to Caroline to finish their dance.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Caroline asked Matt in a low voice. "No matter what Damon said to you, you don't have to do this."

"I want to help and if this is the only way I can well then I can deal with that," he replied.

"I can't and I know Bonnie and Elena wouldn't either," the quarterback said and snuck a glance to the older Salvatore brother who nudged his head in the direction where Matt saw Bonnie and Kol Dancing a few couples over from him and Caroline.

He looked back to Damon and nodded.

Time to start talking.

"Hey, what's the deal with those two?" he asked Caroline and looked over to the vampire witch couple, loud enough for the Original to hear.

"I have no clue but it's kind of freaky seeing her all lovie-dovie with a vampire, especially an Original," Caroline answered, playing along.

"She can do better," Matt stated and caught a glimpse of Kol looking their way.

"Of course she can," Caroline agreed with her former boyfriend. "And I do believe that she will eventually come to her senses and drop him but until then just let her have her fun."

"Hopefully she does it sooner rather than later," he added and twirled Caroline around. "I don't trust that he won't hurt her."

"Oh please, he'll end up hurting her before he ends up actually caring for her."

"If he hasn't already," Matt said back, looking back over to the other couple and locked eyes with the now seething Original.

"I'll kick his ass if he has," Caroline muttered and looked over to her best friend, frowning at how genuinely happy she looked with Kol.

She felt horrible that she was helping to ruin that.

xxx

Kol tried to focus on the woman in his arms and not the words being shared between her two friends.

The Original wanted to rip their heads from their bodies for even suggesting that he'd cause Bonnie harm. They did not know him and they did not know what he and Bonnie shared.

He watched as the two broke away from each other, Caroline being pulled into another dance by his brother, Nik and Matt walking off. Kol felt a need to follow him.

Kol turned his attention away from the human when he was clapped on the shoulder and turned to see Damon Salvatore standing there.

"Whatever happened to saving me a dance, Bennett?" he questioned Bonnie, ignoring Kol completely.

Bonnie looked to Kol who just shrugged, indicating that it was up to her. She smiled at Damon and took his outstretched hand.

"Keep your hands where I can see them, Salvatore," Kol warned the younger vampire before he left the two of them and headed off in the direction he saw Matt go, much to Damon's pleasure.

The Original found the human out on one of the many balconies of the Mikaelson mansion. Alone. Stupid human.

"Matt, is it?" he asked and heard the human's heart rate pick up when he turned to see Kol standing there. At least he was smart enough to be afraid. "You are Rebekah's date this evening, am I right?"

"Yeah," he replied. "I'm also a friend of Bonnie's."

"Quite protective of her it seems," he commented and walked closer to the blue eyed human. "Or are you just plain stupid to say those things within ear shot of an Original," he finished and his pleasant façade dropped completely from his face.

"I've known her my whole life; I've always looked out of her."

"And you think that she needs protecting from me?"

"I don't think, I know," Matt shot back with a new found confidence that only lasted until Kol's hand had grabbed him around the throat, cutting off his breathing.

"Not that it is any of your business, but I do care for Bonnie and I would never hurt her," he growled out and his hand gripped tighter.

"Kol!" he heard Bonnie's voice shout from behind him, he turned to see her and Damon standing in the doorway. Whilst Bonnie and Damon were dancing, the Salvatore claimed to hear some sort of commotion out on the balcony so they decided to check it out and what she saw, made her wish that she didn't.

Kol dropped Matt to the ground and fully turned around to face Bonnie. He wasn't even given any time to explain himself before Damon had sped towards him, pushing him over the balcony and throwing himself over shortly after.

After Damon had thrown Kol off the balcony, Bonnie rushed over to the railing and watched as Damon landed on top of Kol. The witch watched on in horror as the two of them struggled before Damon managed to get the upper hand and snapped Kol's neck.

xxx

Bonnie stood off to the side with Stefan, Matt and Caroline and watched Elijah and Finn carrying Kol's temporarily dead body away to his room. Looking at his unconscious form, she couldn't even bring herself to feel anything for the youngest male Original.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Caroline turned and asked Bonnie once the Originals were out of sight. "About you and Kol," she added and Bonnie looked to Stefan with wide eyes.

"They know," Stefan said to Bonnie, referring to Matt and Caroline. "They overheard me and Damon talking about it earlier," he lied. He and Damon agreed that it was best for her not to know that they pushed Kol to do this.

"I wanted to tell you guys, I really did but we figured to less to know the better," she said when she looked back to her blonde friend.

"Do you want me to take you home?" Caroline asked her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Bonnie shook her head. "I'm going to wait for him to wake up and tell him to leave me the hell alone from now on," she said and then turned to Stefan, "unless I still need to be with him."

"You can do what you want now, it doesn't matter. He'll be dead tomorrow night," he said to Bonnie.

"Be brutal," Caroline joked. "If you want, I'll wait for you at your place."

"That would be great, thanks," she replied and gave Caroline a hug. "Are you going to be okay?" she asked Matt when she and Caroline pulled away.

"I'll be fine. Nothing a little vampire blood can't fix," he said with a smile and nudged Caroline playfully.

Bonnie couldn't help by smile at her two friends, especially Matt and how well he's taken to the messed up world they now live in.

xxx

After her friends had left, Bonnie made her way to Kol's room and changed out of her ball gown and into a much more comfortable pair of jeans and shirt (also having removed the necklace that he gave her earlier) and she sat on the exact same chair as she did earlier, waiting for Kol to wake up from having his neck snapped by Damon.

Seeing Kol crushing Matt's hand had both surprised and upset Bonnie. She honestly believed that he wouldn't have done something like that because he claimed to care about her. She'd seen his true colours tonight and they couldn't have come at a better time.

Bonnie heard the Original let out a groan and looked over to see him moving on the bed.

"Bonnie?" he asked and sat up on the bed. "What happened?"

"Damon snapped your neck after you attacked Matt," she answered in a chipper voice that surprised Kol.

He began to remember what happened; he remembered crushing Matt's hand on the balcony and then Damon coming out with Bonnie behind him. He remembered the look on her face when she saw him, the hurt, betrayed and angered look.

Kol looked back over to Bonnie to find her staring out the glass balcony doors and he used his speed to appear in front of her, not being able to suppress his hurt when she slapped his hand away when he tried to touch her face.

"Don't touch me," she nearly growled and got up from her seat, pushing past him. "The only reason that I'm still here is to tell you to stay the hell away from me and my friends from now on."

"So I make one mistake and that's it? You run?" he called after her and she snapped back around to glare at him.

"You attacked one of my closest friends, Kol," she glowered before turning back to open the bedroom door but Kol sped behind her, slamming it shut. Bonnie spun around to face the Original, her glare still intact.

"Can we just talk about this? I'm sorry for what I did to Matt," he said to her in a voice that Bonnie felt was less than sincere and went to push some hair behind her ear but was once again pushed away.

"I said don't touch me."

"Don't be like this, Bonnie. Don't throw all of this away just because of one mistake," he tried to plead with her. "I'm sorry, I just got angry and –

"That's just it, Kol. You got angry and you lashed out on one of my friends," she said and her glare disappeared only to be replaced by her disappointment. "What did you think would happen after attacking Matt?" she asked.

"I wasn't thinking," he replied and successfully managed to get a hold of Bonnie's hand, bringing it up to his lips to place a kiss to her knuckles.

"Why did you do it?" she asked him softly and tried not to enjoy the feeling of his lips against her fingers.

"I heard him talking to Caroline about how I'll only end up hurting you," he answered her.

"And that's exactly what you did," she said and took her hand back from him.

"I didn't mean to," he replied and his hand fell from the door.

"I think I should go," she said, her voice just above a whisper and turned around to take a hold of the door handle but his hand covered her.

"I'm sorry that my actions tonight hurt you but I'm not going to give up on what we have so believe me when I say that I will make it up to you," he spoke softly against her ear before opening the door and allowing her to walk out of his room without so much as a glance back at him.

Kol closed the door behind her and rested his head against the hard wood. Everything had been going so well between them, and then he had to go and screw it all up.

He shed the now uncomfortable tuxedo from his head when he noticed the necklace he had given her earlier on the dresser. Kol wanted to believe that she had accidently left it behind when she changed her clothes but from the words she spoke just mere minutes ago would prove him wrong.

Soon, the lamp next to the necklace went flying across the room before it shattered against the wall.

xxx

When Bonnie arrived home, Caroline was there just like she promised.

She too had changed out of her ball gown, obviously having been to her own house before stopping by at Bonnie's.

"How'd it go?" Caroline asked when Bonnie sat on her bed.

"Okay I guess," Bonnie replied.

"Earlier tonight Stefan told me that you had fallen for him. Was that true?"

Bonnie gave a small smile before her eyes started to well up. "I think so," she answered in a shaky voice.

"Oh, Bonnie," Caroline sighed and pulled the green eyed witch into a tight hug.

"I needed you and Elena so much during all of this," Bonnie sobbed into her shoulder. "It was awful having to do this all alone."

"To hell with Damon and Stefan, you should have just come to us," Caroline said and Bonnie wished that she would have done just that.

"I just feel like such an idiot, I started to actually believe that there was something different about him but he turned out to be just like every other psycho vampire," Bonnie said as she pulled away from Caroline and wiped away some of her tears. "I can't even believe what I did with him tonight," she muttered but Caroline managed to pick it up.

"Please tell me you didn't sleep with him."

Bonnie shook her head. "No, I didn't. We… exchanged blood," she told her while avoiding all eye contact.

"Oh… wow!" was all Caroline could manage to say. "According to Stefan, exchanged blood is kind of like sex to vampires."

"Mmhm, he definitely felt happy about it," Bonnie commented and heard Caroline snicker.

"I bet he did."

"Do you want to know the worst part in all of this?" Bonnie asked and finally looked up at Caroline. "I still don't want him to die."

"Are you going to do anything about it?" Caroline questioned and Bonnie just shrugged her shoulders.

"There is nothing I can do. Esther is drawing her power from the entire Bennett line, including me and Lucy," she said before sighing in defeat. "I can't save him."

xxx

The more Kol thought about it, the more he decided that he wasn't willing to let go of Bonnie and at three in the morning he found himself in Bonnie's room, watching over her peacefully sleeping form.

He pulled the necklace from his pocket and very gently and carefully lifted her head so he could clasp it together around her neck before placing her head back on her pillow.

He kissed her lips softly before whispering, "I love you."

xxx

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :O :O :O :O :O :O
> 
> Not too soon was it?
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed this chapter (I personally enjoyed Caroline breaking Stefan's wrist heh heh). It may be a little choppy but that may be because I didn't write it in order. I actually wrote the first bit last… About 90% of this I wrote today so my brain is actually kind of dead right now so I realllllly hope you guys like it!
> 
> I'll be honest, my original plan was for Bonnie and Kol to do the nasty at the ball but then I changed it to exchanging blood because I kind of think to a vampire that would be more intimate (wasn't it that way in the books too? I haven't read them).
> 
> I'm also nearly crying just thinking about what's going to happen in the next few chapters because guess what the next chapter is going to have? The ritual! So we have some major Kennett angst coming up…
> 
> Thank you all so much for all your lovely feedback!
> 
> Any mistakes that you spot in this chapter I do apologise for and pretty please review!
> 
> Anyone else picture Regina like Regina/The Evil Queen from Once Upon A Time? I just love her and her complex evilness ;)
> 
> The link to Bonnie's dress and hair is on my Tumblr page, it is torilee07 or you can just type 'Kennett' into the tag search and you'll see it in there :)
> 
> xxx


	17. Discoveries, Rituals and Betrayals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> \

The next morning when Bonnie woke up she wished that everything that happened last night was just a bad dream. She wished that the last year and a half had been all a dream and everything was back to normal, back to how it should be.

But it wasn't. It would never be normal again. She would never be normal again.

The young witch managed to drag herself out of bed and trudged into the bathroom connected to her room.

She stood in front of the mirror and looked up at her reflection, freezing when she saw the necklace Kol gave her last night and the one she returned back to him that very same night hanging from her neck.

Bonnie had begun to regret inviting him into her house…even though the initial [invitation](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/17/Fool_Me_One_Fool_Me_Twice) was an accident.

The green eyed girl let out an annoyed sigh before reaching behind her neck to unclasp the necklace and set it on the bench. She had a sinking feeling that she would end up seeing him today at some point so she'll just give it to him them.

Bonnie shed herself of her clothes and got into the shower, letting the hot steam temporarily wash away all her troubles before she would undoubtedly have to face reality and most likely Kol.

xxx

Kol found his brother in his [study](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/17/Fool_Me_One_Fool_Me_Twice) with his sketch pad on his lap.

"I'm bored," the youngest brother spoke and sat down on the chair across from Klaus.

The [hybrid](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/17/Fool_Me_One_Fool_Me_Twice) looked up and raised an eye brow at his brother's seemingly good mood. Last night he destroyed an entire room and now he seemed unfazed by his and Bonnie's 'break up'.

"You're in a good mood today," he commented and went back to his drawing. "I figured after last night you'd be back to your old psychotic self."

Klaus was honestly surprised at how long Kol managed to last before he screwed it all up.

"Oh brother, Bonnie and I aren't finished yet," Kol told him and Klaus looked [back up](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/17/Fool_Me_One_Fool_Me_Twice) at him with a confused look.

"From the sounds of what she said last night I'd say differently," he said and Kol only rolled his eyes.

"That was her initial anger. She's had time to calm down and after a few well-chosen words, I'm sure she'll come around," Kol answered and Klaus shook his head at his brother.

"Do you honestly believe that?" he asked though his questioned remained unanswered as Rebekah walked into the room, wearing last night's ball gown.

"Well, what do we have here?" Kol smirked, getting up from his seat to meet his sister at the steps and received a glare from his only sister. "Who was your victim this time, dear sister? Matt?" he asked.

"No, after what you did to him last night he didn't even want to speak to me," Rebekah answered with a scowl. "And who I spent my night with is none of [your business](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/17/Fool_Me_One_Fool_Me_Twice)," she added and pushed past him. "Shut it, Nik," she growled to her other brother who was holding in his laugh.

"I can't believe you struck out with someone like Matt," Kol laughed and sat back down on his chair.

"I can't believe that you were actually stupid enough to attack him in front of Bonnie," the blonde Original shot back and this time she was the one who got the glare. "Are you really that idiotic?" she continued.

"Apparently so," Klaus answered for his brother.

Kol growled at his siblings. They didn't know the full story.

"Whatever," Kol mumbled. "Are we getting out of here or not?" he asked his brother, his bored look back in place.

Klaus rolled his eyes and sighed as he set his sketch pad down on the seat beside him. "Why not? I didn't have nearly enough to drink last night what with you trying to murder everyone," he said and got up from his seat.

Kol gave a satisfied smile and got up to follow his brother.

"Yes, go. This house has enough men rolling around in it!" Rebekah said after them and Kol turned around with a cheeky grin.

"Just like you, Bekah," he shot back, his head just narrowly missed her flying shoe thrown at it.

xxx

Kol and Klaus walked into the  _Mystic Grill_  and made themselves comfortable at the bar, ordering a variety of liquor.

Klaus leant his back against the bar counter and spotted a familiar figure walking through the entrance. "Here comes your witch now, brother," Klaus smirked and looked to Kol.

Kol turned around and looked to where Klaus was pointing and smiled when he saw her. Kol downed his drink before placing it back on the counter and quickly making his way to her.

"Bonnie," he called when he neared her, his smile fading when she turned around and he saw that she wasn't wearing the necklace. "You're not wearing it."

Bonnie let out a sigh and dug around inside her purse before pulling it out and holding it out to him. "I left it with you for a reason, Kol. I don't want it," she told him and let out another sigh when the vampire refused to take it back, so she did it for him.

The witch took a hold of his hand and dropped the necklace in his palm before pushing past him.

"How can you do it?" he asked after her and she stopped to look back at him.

"Do what?" she asked back.

Kol walked towards her, leaving only a hairs width of space between them. "How can you walk away so easily?"

It wasn't easy for her, far from it.

"It's not easy," she answered honestly.

"Then why do it?" he asked and cupped her face gently. "Especially after what we did last night," he said, referring to them sharing blood. "I thought if anything that would bring us closer."

Bonnie tried to stop herself from turning into his hand and failed miserably. Kol took that as a good sign and lowered his head and his lips hovered over hers, giving her enough time to pull away from him if she wished to but she didn't.

He started off soft, only very lightly brushing his lips against hers and he gradually began to add more pressure when he felt her responding.

Their embrace did not last long before Bonnie came to her senses and pulled away from him and backed away to put some space between them.

"You need to stay away from me," she said and turned away from him.

Bonnie only got a few feet away from him when took her arm and pulled her to the back of the grill, ignoring her displeasure at being dragged and pulled at.

The Original pushed opened the men's room door and pulled her inside. "Get out," he growled menacingly to the one occupant who scurried away without a word.

Kol stood in front of the door, blocking anyone from entering. As soon as he looked to her, his expression softened and used his hand around her arm to bring her closer to him. He snaked his arm around her waist to hold her to him.

"What do you want from me?" she asked with soft voice and looked up at him when his hand rested on her jaw and tilted her head up.

"I just want you," he told her and made a move to kiss her.

"Don't," she whispered and turned her head away from him so his lips touched her cheek.

He kissed it anyway, her cheek, then along her jaw. His hand turned her head back so she faced him and placed his lips onto hers, putting as much passion and tenderness in the kiss as possible.

Kol would always be a monster, there was no changing that but he always felt a gentle side to him come out when she was around. He still enjoyed killing, drinking human blood and causing pain…but he also enjoyed having that secret side that only a certain person could witness.

Bonnie was that person to him.

Their lips moved together in perfect synchronisation, Bonnie no longer holding herself back from him. It was the last kiss she would share with him and that thought would not allow her to pull away from him.

Kol switched their positions, his body holding hers against the door as his hands wondered over her body. Their tongues tangled and her arms looped around his neck.

Bonnie pulled away from him when she begun to feel light headed and in dire need of air. Kol's kisses moved to her neck, licking, nipping at the soft flesh. Her gasps and tiny moans whenever he hit a sensitive spot were like music to his ears.

"I love you," he breathed against the skin of her neck so quietly that he knew that she wouldn't hear it, but that was how he wanted it… for now anyway.

He brought his lips back to hers when he was sure she had gotten her breathing under control, biting gently on her lower lip. His hands gripped lightly at her hips, pressing their bodies as close together as possible.

However, it was all too much for Bonnie. She couldn't handle the amount of emotions that he was putting into the kiss, not when she would be dealing with his death later on tonight.

She wanted him to stop and she needed him to keep going but what she needed more was to protect herself and her emotions.

"Don't pull away from me," Kol said breathlessly against her lips, feeling her trying to pull away from him. "Let me in," he whispered and continued to kiss her.

Kol wanted Bonnie to open up to him – physically and emotionally. He wanted her to trust him.

A banging on the door sounded through the bathroom, interrupting their kiss and while Kol silently cursed at the interruption, Bonnie sent off a silent prayer thankful for the interruption.

The two supernaturals separated and Kol led Bonnie out of the men's room, glaring at guy that had interrupted them.

"I've got to go," Bonnie said as they stood in the back hallway of the grill.

"Can I see you later tonight?" he asked her, her hand in his preventing her from walking away just yet. "I believe we still have a bit to talk about."

"Tomorrow," Bonnie told him. "Maybe," she added with a frown and turned away from him.

 _If you even make it through the night,_ her thought made her turn back around to face him and gave him a sad smile.

"I really do care about you," she said to him, her hands on either side of his face and she stood on her toes to give him a small but sweet kiss. "And I'm sorry," she finished and walked away from him before he could stop her.

xxx

It had been hours since her final kiss with Kol and now Bonnie stood just outside of the salted pentagram, Lucy by her side, as she watched Finn light the torches surrounding them and listened to Esther explain what the spell would do but the only thing that Bonnie heard was Esther talking about how she planned to kill Kol.

She shouldn't have come tonight. She should have stayed home and tried to sleep though it like she originally planned to. Why did she agree to come?

"It's not too late for you to go home," Lucy said to her, noticing her younger cousins growing panic.

Bonnie shook her head. "I'll be fine," she reassured her cousin with a forced smile. "I just hope it all goes according to plan," she added and ran a hand through her hair.

Both Bennett's had that nervous feeling in the pits of their stomachs. Something was going to go wrong, it always does.

xxx

After Elijah's conversation with the Salvatore brother's he tracked down his own two brothers at the  _Mystic Grill_ , and spotted them drinking it up by that bar.

"We have a problem," he told them as soon as he reached the two of them.

"And what exactly is our problem, dear brother?" Klaus asked as he finished yet another drink, offering one to the older brother who declined.

"Mother is attempting to destroy us," he told them, straight up. There was no time to beat around the bush. "And she is using the power of the entire Bennett line to do so," he added, looking mostly at Kol as he spoke. "I also have reason to believe that Bonnie is very much involved," he finished and put a hand on his youngest brother's shoulder.

"Why does that not surprise me?" Klaus muttered to himself.

"What do you mean that Bonnie's involved?" Kol questioned Elijah as he stood up from the bar stool.

"I overheard a conversation between the Salvatore brother's earlier this evening – after they thought I had left- and I do believe that Bonnie's intentions with you this whole time have been entirely honest," he answered Kol with a frown.

"Are you trying to say that she has been using me?" he asked with an incredulous look.

"I'm sorry, brother," Elijah said with a hint of sympathy. He knew how much his brother liked and cared for Bonnie.

Kol shook his head, refusing to believe his brother. "No. No. I know her and she would never do something like this."

His Bonnie would never do this. He knew that she cared about him.

"Clearly you don't know her as well as you thought," Klaus said and backed off a bit when Kol growled at him.

"I always found it odd that she even gave you the time of day considering her history with our kind," Elijah said and Kol's head snapped back to his older brother.

"I do not believe it. I may have messed up last night but she wouldn't try to kill me…or Rebekah!" he tried to convince his siblings but they weren't having any of it.

"If anything what you did last night made it easier for her to distance herself from you and to help kill you without any guilt," Klaus spoke and the younger Original brother ran a hand through his hair, trying to process what his brothers were telling him.

"I can't believe it," he said, looking between Klaus and Elijah.

"I think 'won't' is the more appropriate word to use there, brother," Klaus replied and took another drink.

Kol glared at him. "You are asking me to believe that the girl that I love is aiding our mother in my death."

"Our death," Klaus corrected and Kol was tempted to smash the near empty bottle of alcohol over his head.

"I know where mother is performing the spell, come with us and see for yourself," Elijah said, getting between the two of them before they came to blows.

"You know what they say, seeing is believing," Klaus smirk then let out a groan of pain when Kol grabbed the back of his head and smashed it into the bar, ignoring all the heads turning to look at him. He had just about enough of his brother.

"Can we please just focus on the most important issue at hand, our mother is attempting to kill us," Elijah said, gaining the attention of Klaus and Kol. "The only way to stop this ritual is to sever the Bennett line," he informed them and they immediately understood what he meant.

Turn, not kill. It was the only way to successfully destroy a witch and sever their entire bloodline.

"Well, that is easy enough. Kol and Bonnie exchanged blood last night," Klaus said and Elijah quickly took a hold of Kol's wrist, stopping whatever he was about to do to Klaus. "I'm not saying that we actually turn her, that would be our last resort but if we convince the witches that we are serious about turning Bonnie then they will back off which will give us enough time to rid our self of Esther," he explained to his brothers.

"Will that work?" Elijah questioned and Klaus nodded his head.

"I've threatened to sever the Bennett line before and the witches backed off straight away. They won't risk destroying the most powerful witch bloodline they have," Klaus confirmed and then turned to Kol with a hint of a smirk on his face. "But if Bonnie is in fact using you then wouldn't you want some kind of revenge?"

Kol once again glared at him. "If she is then I will handle it myself," he stated in a tone that demanded that the topic of Bonnie be dropped for the time being or at least until they figured out how to stop their mother from killing them.

xxx

The three Original brothers made their way to the abandoned witch house and Kol felt his heart sink down into his stomach when he saw Bonnie standing across the other side of the circle with her cousin.

What Elijah said was true.

She had been using him just so she could kill him.

"Well; look what we have here," he spoke when they came to a stop. "We have the favourite son playing the sacrificial little lamb," he said referring to his brother, Finn, before turning his attention to Bonnie who was looking everywhere but at him, gripping tightly to her cousin's hand.

"And what exactly was your part in all this, Bonnie?" he questioned but received no answer from her. She continued to stare down at the ground, ignoring all around her.

Guilty.

It was then when Damon Salvatore had decided to join them and Kol growled lowly in his chest when he stood protectively behind Bonnie, hands on her shoulders and ready to take her away at the first sign of danger.

"Alone are we?" Klaus asked the older Salvatore. "Where's Stefan?"

"Saving Elena," he replied but looked to Elijah instead of Klaus. "We are not going to sever the Bennett line and we are not going to allow your psycho bitch of a sister to kill Elena," Damon growled. Klaus and Kol looked over to his older brother who was wearing a scowl on his face and from to looks on Bonnie and Lucy's faces they knew all about it as well.

What exactly had their brother and sister planned?

"You think you've won? Well, we'll see about that." Klaus said with his signature smirk and before the older Salvatore could reply, the Original hybrid had used his speed to knock Damon away and take a hold of Bonnie. Her back was to his front and he had on arm across her chest and the other across her stomach, holding her firmly to him.

Damon immediately got back to his feet and snarled viciously at the hybrid but Lucy stopped him from attacking by placing a hand on his chest.

"It has recently been brought to my attention that dear Bonnie here has Kol's blood in her system," Klaus spoke to the spirits of the dead witches around them. "And just in case it has passed through her system…" his hand around her stomach lifted to his mouth and he tore into his wrist and forced his blood into the witch's mouth and ignoring the cries of protest and distress coming from her cousin, Damon and even Kol. "You can now be sure that my blood is in her system," he continued and his hand left her mouth and held her head. "So I suggest you stop the spell now unless you wish for me to sever the Bennett line for good," he growled and held Bonnie tighter when she began to thrash around, trying to get out and found herself yelling for Kol.

If it were not for Elijah's hold on Kol's arm, the younger Original would have killed Klaus and ran off with Bonnie by now.

"And you will never get another chance!" he yelled and positioned his hands to snap her neck. "Do you really want to risk it?" Bonnie let out a muffled scream when his grip tightened around her neck, beginning to turn it slightly.

"Nik, stop!" Kol yelled to his brother as he desperately tried to get to Bonnie but could not get away from Elijah to do so.

"Listen to him!" Lucy screamed to the spirits, hand clutching Damon's arm for support.

Everyone felt the change in the air and their attention turned to the flaming torches around the salted circle. They watched as the flames intensified, and the hisses of the witches filled the air before the fire suddenly stopped, leaving nothing but darkness surrounding them.

But Esther and Finn had fled, leaving Bonnie, Lucy and Damon to deal with the Originals on their own.

Klaus' tight hold on Bonnie lightened and Kol took a step forward to take her from his brother but before Klaus had even let go of her, Damon had already snatched her up in his arms, holding her to him protectively with her face buried in his chest whilst Lucy stood on her other side.

"Go," Elijah spoke up from besides Kol. "We shall call it a truce for now," he told them and received questioning looks from his brothers which he chose to ignore.

Kol could feel the anger building up inside of him as he watched Damon backed away from them, Bonnie still securely in his hold. She called for him but ran to Damon.

His jealousy aside, he remembered that she had been using him…just to kill him.

Seeing her standing their alongside his mother…it hurt. He felt betrayed. It hurt more than when Nik stabbed him with the dagger. He expected betrayal from Nik; he didn't expect it from her.

He loved her and she hurt him and he was going to deal with this the only way he knew how: retaliation.

xxx

Damon walked Bonnie to her front door, a protective hand on her lower back.

"I don't like the idea of you being alone, especially not when Kol's been invited in and possibly feeling a bit vengeful," Damon said when she pulled the house keys out of her pocket.

"I'll be fine, besides Lucy will be home soon," she told him. "Putting a salt circle around the house seems like a good idea though," she added and tried to laugh but couldn't bring herself to do so.

After Damon, Lucy and Bonnie left the witch site; Damon had told Lucy that Stefan would need his help with Rebekah to safely get Elena.

Bonnie stuck the key into the lock but before she could turn it a sickening cracking sound came from behind her causing her to snap around to see what it was.

The young witch let out a terrified gasp when she saw Damon's body fall limp to the ground and Kol standing over him, a look of a complete rage and wrath on his face.

He stepped over Damon's body and walked towards her at a torturously slow pace that made Bonnie back into the front door, her hand reaching for the key in the lock to open the door.

"That's not going to help you, Beautiful. You've already invited me in," he said and used his pet name for her in a mocking tone that sent shivers down her spine before taking a dramatic step over the threshold of the front door, closing it behind him.

"What do you want?" she knew that it was a dumb and obvious question but it was the only thing she could bring herself to say at that moment.

"Not much," Kol shrugged. "The Salvatore's head's on a platter, my mother dead, my family to live in peace," he listed off and then set his gaze on her. "Though, I'm at a loss for what I want from you…or to do to you is what I should actually say."

"If you are here to kill me then just get it over with," she said to him without any emotion.

Kol turned away from Bonnie and walked into the living room, sitting himself down on the couch. He looked back to Bonnie and patted the cushion next to him but she never moved from her grounded position near the stairs.

"Bonnie," he drawled out her name. "If you don't come here I might get angry and it won't be you that I snap at but it could be your neighbours," he told her with a sadistic grin that made her skin crawl.

It made the young witch realise that the Kol she knew was officially gone and nothing but a monster sat in his place.

She did what he said and slowly walked over and sat down beside him, keeping some space between them but he quickly closed it by moving in. He turned and sat sideways on the couch so he could face her while his arm draped across the back of the couch, just barely grazing Bonnie's shoulders.

"I told you about Amy last night, didn't I?" he asked and Bonnie slowly nodded her head. "Well; I don't believe that I told you the full story. I gave you the watered down version but I now find myself wanting to tell you the full story," he told her and Bonnie flinched when his other hand went to rest on her leg.

"As I told you last night, Amy used to me to gain immortality and I was telling the truth when I said that Regina was the one to kill her but I got my share of vengeance before I allowed that happened," he started to tell her and all the while running his hand up and down her jean covered leg in a disturbingly soothing way.

"Amy immediately regretting becoming a vampire once she discovered the bloodlust that came with it and unfortunately for her she was not able to control it and I took advantage of that," he continued and all humour and amusement dropped from his expression and tone. "I tracked her down and I compelled her."

"To do what?" she asked when he stopped talking but she knew that she did not want to know what he made her do.

"I am so glad you asked that," he replied, the smile finding its way back on his face as he kissed her cheek and enjoyed the feeling of her flinching. "I compelled her to rip her own family apart. Her mother, her father, her older sister as well as her eleven year old brother but I made sure that she was aware of her every action," his voice dropped as he leant down and brushed his lips along the side of her face as he spoke. "I made sure that she would hear the cries and the screams as she tore into her family while she pleaded with me to make her stop," he finished and pulled away from her.

Bonnie just sat there extremely still, trying to rid herself from the mental images that Kol had just given her. Bonnie was well aware that Kol would have done some terrible things in his life time but she did not expect anything like that.

How could anyone be that evil?

"I would have told you this last night but I figured it would have scared you off," he said with a carefree shrug.

"You're a sick bastard," she muttered before she could stop herself.

Kol smiled at her and winked. "And I take pride in it."

"Why are you telling me this?" she asked him and tried to move away but he stopped her from doing so.

"I never told you any of this and I wasn't going to because I didn't want to risk losing you but seeing as I apparently never had you, why not? Why not show you who I truly am?" he sneered. "And believe me when I say there is more, darling, but I'll save that for another day. Can't waste all my secrets," he finished and Bonnie looked up at him like he was insane.

Who was she kidding? He  **was**  insane.

"Now, can I ask you something?" he asked as he laced their hands together and gave her hand a warning squeeze when she tried to pull it away.

"What?" she gritted out and attempted to dig her nails into his palm.

"Your father is coming back to town soon, isn't he?" he asked her with a sinister grin and Bonnie felt her heart drop she snapped her head around to look at him, eyes wide with panic.

"No, don't…don't touch him," she begged him. "I'm who you're mad at so just take it out on me, not him, please not him."

"Just you, huh?" he questioned in a soft tone and pushed some fallen hair away from her eyes. Bonnie nodded her head and looked away from the Original vampire. Kol watched Bonnie as she stared off at nothing, just anywhere but him so he forced her to look back at him by tightening his grip on her hand to the point that it made her wince.

"I'm sorry," she said to him in such a soft tone that he almost missed it, he wished that he had.

"It's too late," he replied and let go of her hand and stood up.

Before he left he turned back around to face her, all traces of emotion gone leaving nothing but emptiness behind.

"You really had me fooled, Bonnie Bennett."

xxx

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :(  
> Will Kennett ever reconnect? Or will they destroy each other?  
> I hope you liked this chapter and the little spin that I put on to the ritual scene (I loathed how in the show the Salvatore's went straight for the kill) and pretty please leave a review of your thoughts. I love to read them!  
> Next chapter we have lots and lots of Kennett angst (including a scene where Kol wants to know 'why'), Kol does some thinking and Stefan and Damon actually do something productive and attempt to protect Bonnie from crazy insane Kol along with some brotherly moments between Elijah/Kol/Klaus and we see Rebekah's reaction to all of it plus more! Overall, it's going to be a biiiiiig chapter!  
> While I was writing this chapter (especially the ritual scene and the kiss) I had been listening to 'Orchard of Mines' by Globus over and over again. You guys should go check it out cause it's an awesome song.  
> Just to all those out there worried about the possibility of a mushy Kol, never fear! Kol's psychoticness and craziness isn't going to go away (never ever!) and it's going to come out full force in the next few chapters but I do like the idea of him having a little soft spot when it comes to Bonne ;)  
> Sorry for any mistakes you may find in this and pretty please review!  
> xxx


	18. Dreams and Nightmares

_There was blood everywhere._

_She was panicking, her heart was beating at an insane rate and she was shaking from nerves._

_Everywhere she turned, on every surface, and even on herself. She had no idea where it was coming from and it wouldn't stop. She tried to wipe the substance of her hands onto her jeans but it wouldn't come off._

_Cries of pain began to fill her ears and Bonnie ran to where[the sounds](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/18/Fool_Me_Once_Fool_Me_Twice) were coming from, a horrified scream escaping her lips when she finally saw it like a scene from some torture horror movie_

_It was Daniel. He was being held up by what looked like animal traps clamped around his wrists and chains connected to the high ceiling above._

" _Oh, my God," she gasped and ran towards him but couldn't. It was like she had hit some type of invisible barrier._

" _You can't help him," she heard Kol say when he suddenly appeared beside her. "He's already dead."_

_Bonnie looked from Kol and back to Daniel, he was moving, he was struggling and unbearable sounds were coming from him. He wasn't dead, what was he talking about?_

_Kol took a step forward, passing the barrier that was stopping her and he circled Daniel in a predatory manner that had Bonnie scared._

" _What are you doing?" she questioned Kol in weary and frightened voice when he stood still behind her friend. She could see Daniel flinch when Kol brought[a hand](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/18/Fool_Me_Once_Fool_Me_Twice) down to his throat, his fingers digging into his flesh. "Stop!" Bonnie cried out and struggled against the invisible wall._

_Kol stared her straight in the eye as his fingers dug in deeper and began to drag his hand across his neck, taking the flesh with him as blood began pool out of the wound, drenching Daniel's bare chest and Bonnie clenched her eyes closed and turned away from the scene as she tried to block out the piercing sounds of his screaming paired with the horrid sound of tearing flesh._

"Have a nice dream?" someone whispered in her ear as she was waking up, their hands brushing her hair away from her face in a tender manner.

Bonnie shot up in her [bed and](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/18/Fool_Me_Once_Fool_Me_Twice) got as far away as possible the second she realised that Kol was casually lying in her bed.

The Original vampire let out a chuckle at her response and sat himself up, leaning against the headboard.

"What the hell are you doing here?" She asked him as she got off her bed, trying to put as much distance between them as possible.

"I told you that I had more secrets to tell you," he answered with a smirk and Bonnie's face dropped when she thought back to the dream that she just had.

"You gave me that dream," she said and he nodded. "And Daniel…you really did kill him didn't you?" Once again he nodded and Bonnie brought her hand up to her mouth.

"Well…Klaus was the one that killed him but it was at my request and I also attacked the other one," he added and got up off the bed. "Had you not have come outside when you did I would have killed him too," he continued and stood in the centre of her bedroom.

"Why would you do that?" she asked. "They were my friends and…"

"And I don't care. Didn't I tell you that I didn't care for your friends," he replied.

"So you try to kill them? What the hell is wrong with you!?" she nearly screamed at him.

"I don't think I got enough hugs as a child," he joked and Bonnie was tempted to use her magic to throw his ass out the window.

"You are insane," she said through gritted teeth. "I don't know why I let you fool me into thinking that there was some good in you," she spat and Kol's expression dropped for a split second before he recomposed himself.

"I fooled you?" he questioned with a disbelieving scoff at what she was accusing him of. "Which one out of the two of us was the one playing with the other's emotions just to get close enough to kill them?"

"Oh please, like your intentions had been completely honest from the beginning," she shot back at him and folded her arms over her chest.

He wanted to tell her that his intentions with her had been honest, that he was attracted to her and grew to deeply care about her then eventually he fell for her.

But he didn't.

Instead he walked closer to her and spoke lowly against her ear. "Be careful of how you speak to me, Bonnie, unless you want some of your other friends to join Daniel."

Bonnie backed away from Kol and her hand flew up and connected with Kol's cheek, the sound echoing through her room. Before her hand even fell back to her side he had her pushed roughly against the wall.

"Don't ever do that again," he growled at her and Bonnie attempted to push him away from her but he didn't budge.

"Just go away," she muttered and leant her head back against the wall, closing her eyes and praying that he would be gone when she opened them.

And he was.

xxx

"Why is it that you seem more upset about this than Kol does?" Klaus questioned his sister and Rebekah sent him a doubtful look.

"You know that's not true, you know he is hurting," she said to her brother and watched him nod his head in agreement.

They all knew that deep down Kol wasn't taking it so well.

The whole thing really did come as a shock to the female Original and she did not entirely believe Elijah when he first came to her with his plan to kidnap Elena to draw out Stefan and Damon.

Elijah ended up being right; she had been playing Kol –playing all of them.

"I can't believe we fell for her little act," Rebekah sighed and sat down next to her brother.

"Oh, stop huffing and puffing, Bekah. You aren't the one who got hurt," Klaus uttered and put down the book that his sister was making impossible to read with all her blabbering. "Let Kol deal with this, he is more than capable. Need I remind you of Amy?"

"So you are just going to do nothing?" she questioned him and ripped the book from his hands, tossing it across the room.

"Yes, I am going to do nothing. I am going to let Kol handle this and you should do the same," he said to her and stood up from the couch. "Just leave it alone, Bekah," he added before he walked out of the room.

He knew she wouldn't listen to him though, she never did.

xxx

"Are you sure that is a good idea?" Bonnie asked Elena over the phone.

"Yes. Kol has been invited in your house so staying here, Stefan and Damon can protect you," Elena answered. "It was Damon's idea and I'm pretty sure he'll just come and get you and drag you here anyway so you may as well come over on your own terms," she added with a tiny laugh. "Lucy has already agreed to it anyway."

"Why am I always the last to know these things lately?" Bonnie whined as she threw some things into a bag to take with her to the boarding house.

"So it's already planned therefore don't have a chance to disagree," Elena giggled and Bonnie rolled her eyes.

"You're one to talk about disagreeing with plans," the witch playfully shot back to her friend.

"Touché," the doppelganger said. "Please come over," she begged and Bonnie could practically hear her pout.

"I'm packing right now," she replied. "I'll see you in a bit, alright?"

The two friends said their goodbyes and Bonnie continued on with her packing

xxx

Rebekah had never been invited into Bonnie's how so she opted for waiting outside until the witch made an appearance. She had been waiting for over an hour, she had watched Lucy leave early that morning to meet with the school teacher, Alaric and heard Bonnie talking to Elena on the phone about taking up temporary residence at the Salvatore boarding house.

But when Bonnie finally came outside, the female Original had her pinned to the front door with a hand clamped around her neck as soon as the witch turned around after locking it and found herself staring into a pair of furious blue eyes.

"Bekah," Bonnie choked out and placed her hands over the blondes, trying to get her to loosen her grip.

"You little bitch," she snarled and pushed the witch further into the hard wood of the door. "How could you do that to him?" she questioned and Bonnie let out a groan of pain when her head hit the door behind her.

"I'm sorry," she got out but her apology only made the female Original angrier.

"You're sorry? For what; trying to kill us, using my brother or for breaking his heart?" she growled out, her grip around Bonnie's neck tightening to the point that Bonnie couldn't breathe.

"Bekah," she choked out again, scratching and clawing at her hand.

The witch was beginning to panic, so much to the point where it was impossible to focus long enough to access her magic to help her. She could see spots clouding her vision at the lack of oxygen and just as Rebekah was torn away from her, Bonnie slumped down to the ground, head hanging as she fell into unconsciousness. But she could have sworn that she saw Kol standing above her before she blacked out.

xxx

"What the hell do you think you are doing?" Kol growled at Rebekah after he threw her down to the ground.

"You're protecting her!?" She questioned with a bewildered expression on her face as she looked up at her brother. "After what she did to you –to all of us- you are actually protecting her?"

"Just go, Rebekah," he told her and knelt down beside the unconscious Bonnie.

"I cannot believe this!" she spat and jumped up to her feet.

"I said go!" he snarled at his sister who after a minutes, thankfully listened to him and ran off with a huff.

Kol sighed and picked up the keys she had dropped when Rebekah attacked her before he turned back to Bonnie and placed one arm behind her neck and the other behind her knee's to pick her up. He managed to unlock the door and carried her inside, shutting the door behind him with his foot.

He took her to her room and very carefully placed her on her bed but before he could leave there was something he needed to do. Kol sat next to her sleeping form on the bed and looked down at her and focused.

This was the only way he could get an honest answer from her.

xxx

_Bonnie was unfamiliar with her surroundings but she found them to be beautiful. Lush green grass and shrubs and a waterfall that fell into a stunning crystal lake, all of it circled by trees of all heights, the leaves to thick that only few rays of sunshine were able to penetrate the barrier._

_Where was she?_

_She had to be dreaming, she must have blacked out from Rebekah's attack._

" _Why did you do it?" the witch heard Kol's voice from behind her._

_Bonnie spun around to face the Original, her heart clenching when she saw him and every single emotion was showing on his face. The pain, the hurt, the betrayal, the anger_

" _I never wanted to," she replied. "And I wish that I never agreed to it."_

" _Then why did you!?" he raised his voice._

" _I wanted to save my friends from your family," she answered in a small voice._

" _My family was prepared to live in peace with everyone in this town," he replied and Bonnie shook her head._

" _No they weren't and Elena would never be free of your brother because of her doppelganger status," she tried to explain to him but he shook her off, ignoring her words. "I had to protect not just her but everyone from him. He's caused all of us so much pain. I couldn't let him do it again."_

" _So I had to suffer because of that?" he questioned and Bonnie had to turn away from him, unable to bare the guilt that she felt whenever she looked at him. "Why not Nik if he was the one you truly wanted to hurt? Why did you do this to me?"_

" _Because I had a dream about you and you told me that you could help me," she confessed to him and watched his face wash over with confusion._

" _Help you with what?" he asked._

" _We were told that whatever was in that coffin would kill Klaus. The coffin was in my dream, as well as you and Klaus so when you said you could help I assumed that it was with killing Klaus," she told him. "I had no idea who you were until Klaus came to see me and you were with him and when I did a cloaking spell on Stefan, he was watching you guys to try and come up with a way to destroy you all but he overheard you and Elijah talking about me," she added and Kol motioned for her to keep going. "He and Damon came up with the idea for me to try and make you fall for me so you would help us," she paused before continuing. "Turned out that it was Esther that sent me those dreams in hopes that you would do just that," she finished with a sigh._

_Kol gave a bitter chuckle and shook his head in disbelief. "Well, you succeeded in part of your plan," he said and she looked at him, confused. "You made me fall for you," he admitted._

" _What?" Bonnie questioned him with a look of complete and utter shock. "No…no," she muttered repeatedly. She wasn't going to believe it; he's just saying it to make her hurt more. "You're just saying that to make me hurt," she said aloud and Kol let out a scoff before he moved closer to her._

" _Even if I am, it doesn't make it any less true," he replied. "Believe me, I wish I didn't but I did."_

" _Why are you telling me this?" she asked and sat herself down on one of the large rocks that were scattered around the forest floor._

" _Well, for one, this morning you doubted my intentions with you had been less than honest so I just wanted to inform you that they were in fact honest," he said and stood in front of her. "When I first saw you I was attracted to you, I thought you were stunning and you stood up to my brother, something I greatly admired. I never had any ulterior motive while being with you."_

" _Just stop," she pleaded in a faint voice. "Stop telling me all this. Stop making me feel worse than what I already feel."_

" _How do you think I feel? I opened up to you, trusted you and you threw it back in my face."_

_It was then when Bonnie's body was pulling her away, telling her that she was ready to wake up as she drifted away from him._

Kol watched as Bonnie's eyes fluttered a bit before finally opened.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled to him, finishing their conversation from her dream. Her voice was a little hoarse after Rebekah's assault and she sat up on the bed, facing him. Her hand went up to her neck and flinched in pain when she made contact.

It was obviously bruised.

Kol ignored her apology. "I don't even know why I'm doing this," he sighed before he bit into his wrist and held it out to her.

Bonnie looked at his bleeding wrist then back to his face but he wasn't even looking at her.

"Hurry up before I change my mind," he pushed her impatiently and he felt Bonnie tentatively hold his wrist in her hands before she leant down and covered his bite with her lips. His breathing hitched when he felt her tongue swipe over the wound.

He had definitely made a mistake by giving her his blood.

"That's enough," he growled and snatched his wrist away from her and pushed himself off the bed.

Bonnie wiped his blood off her mouth with her sleeve and watched him walk to the door, pausing for a moment to decide whether or not to turn back and say whatever was on his mind.

He decided against it.

Bonnie sighed when she heard the front door slam shut and fell back against her pillows.

How was he able to do this to her? How could he make her hate him one minute then make her like him the next?

 _He killed Daniel. He nearly killed Lucas. He attacked Matt._  She chanted to herself over and over again in hopes that she could stick to hating him.

It wasn't working.

xxx

Kol returned back to the mansion and his arm was immediately seized by Klaus who dragged him into the study where Elijah waited.

"Sit," Klaus commanded and Kol raised an eye brow at his brothers but sat down anyway.

"What's this about?" he asked and happily took the drink that Elijah offered him, downing it all in one gulp.

"You've been looking a bit down lately, brother," Klaus spoke. "Understandably of course but as your older brothers we feel that it is our obligation to pick up your mood, so we are taking you out tonight," he told him.

"Oh, we are having a brotherly bonding night," he replied with mock excitement.

Klaus ignored his brother's attitude and continued talking. "There is a bar about an hour and a half out of Mystic Fall that I rather enjoy. They have some very…tasty treats there," he winked. "Maybe you will find one to take your mind off Bonnie."

"Uh; what the hell? I wouldn't mind getting out of this town for a bit," he agreed.

Anything to get his mind off her.

xxx

It was seven in the evening when Caroline and Elena found Bonnie. She was sitting on the floor, her knees pulled up to her chest with her back against the bed in the room Damon had given her for her stay at the boarding house.

"Bon?" Caroline called out softly, announcing their presence in the room.

Bonnie looked up at her friends and gave them a forced smile. "Hey guys," she said as they walked into the room.

"We come bearing gifts," Elena smiled and they each held up a plastic bag filled with all sorts of things.

"Including triple chocolate fudge ice-cream!" Caroline grinned and pulled a large carton from one of the bags along with three spoons before she jumped on the bed, opening the ice cream and scooping some up.

Elena held a hand out to Bonnie and pulled her friend up and the two of them joined Caroline on the bed.

The vampire and the doppelganger emptied the contents of the bag on the bed to reveal various types of chocolate, chips, popcorn, candy along with a bottle of chocolate topping which Caroline immediately began to pour all over her ice cream.

"Thank god I can no longer put on weight!" she exclaimed in relief and ate a large spoonful.

"Well, unfortunately Bonnie and I still can," Elena said and sent a playful glare to their blonde friend and Caroline stuck her tongue out at her.

"How are you dealing with everything?" Elena asked Bonnie as she reached for a packet of caramel popcorn.

"Okay, I guess," Bonnie answered with a small shrug. "Something happened today and I haven't told anyone and I really don't want Lucy or Damon and Stefan to know."

"What happened?" Caroline questioned through a mouthful of ice cream.

"Before I left to come here, I ran into Rebekah and well…she choked me," she told them and watched their eyes go wide. "And before you say anything, I'm fine…well I did pass out but I'm fine now," she quickly added before they bombarded her with questions. "But…Kol saved me from her and then when I woke up he offered me his blood to heal me."

"He healed you?" Caroline asked and Bonnie nodded.

"He also gave me one of those vampire dream things while I was out," she said and picked apart an empty chocolate wrapper.

"What did he make you see?" Elena questioned with caution. She knew that vampires could make you dream about some terrible things.

"Nothing; he just talked," she told them. "He wanted to know why I did it."

"Did you tell him?" Bonnie nodded to Elena. "What did he say?"

"He told me that I succeeded in my plan and made him fall for me," she confessed to them and bit down on her lip to stop the tears that were threatening to form.

"Oh…wow," Caroline uttered with a small frown.

"Yeah," Bonnie sighed.

"Do you feel the same?" Elena asked softly and Bonnie shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know what I feel for him anymore," she admitted to them. "I care for him, that much I know but I found something out today that he did when this all first started and I want to hate him  _so_  much for it and I do…but at the same time I don't and it's all just so confusing for me,"

"What did he do?"

"He had Klaus kill Daniel," she answered Caroline and could no longer hold back her tears. "He killed someone that I considered to be a friend and I should hate and loath him for it but instead I hate myself because I don't hate him," when she finished, Elena pulled Bonnie to her, cradling her head to her chest.

"I know how you feel, Bonnie. When Damon killed Jeremy, I hated him so much and I know I should still hate him for that and for everything else he's done but I don't," Elena sympathised with her friend.

"But Jeremy didn't stay dead, he came back. Daniel is dead and he's staying dead," she sobbed into her friend's shoulder while Caroline crawled to sit next to the two, running a comforting hand up and down Bonnie's back. "Why can't I hate him?"

Elena and Caroline shared a look over Bonnie's head; both thinking the same thing.

Bonnie loved him.

But neither said anything, they knew that it wasn't what she wanted to hear at the moment.

"We can't answer that, Bon," Caroline said softly

"I'm sorry I didn't tell either of you about any of it," Bonnie said and pulled herself away from Elena, wiping all the tears away from her face.

"It's fine," Elena replied and opened the popcorn. "I get that you guys wanted to keep it as quiet as possible I just hate that they put you in that situation in the first place," she said and popped a piece of the candy in her mouth.

"I broke Stefan's wrist and Elena slapped him in the face," Caroline jumped in with a proud smile on her face and Bonnie looked between both of them with a surprised expression for a moment before she finally let out a laugh.

"When did this happen?" Bonnie asked them and they both answered at the same time.

"At the ball."

"Earlier today."

"I can't believe you both did that," Bonnie smiled and stole some popcorn from Elena. "I love you guys," she giggled and crunched on the sweet piece of candy.

The three best friends spent the rest of their evening eating through the various amounts of food that had been piled up on the bed (Lucy even joined them for an hour or so and Damon attempted to but they locked him out) and watching old reruns of  _The Hills_  (at Caroline's request of course).

It was enough to make Bonnie forget about her current Kol and Original dilemma for the rest of the evening.

xxx

Kol pulled out of the still moaning girl underneath him and fell besides her on the bed, pushing her away when she tried to cuddle with him.

"Who's Bonnie?" she girl asked him as she lay on her side to look at him, a dazed look on her face from the compulsion.

No, he did not compel her to sleep with him, he's not that pathetic but he did however compel her to be okay with him calling her Bonnie after his first little slip of the tongue.

The only reason he even went back to the more than willing girl's place was because he felt lonely she looked similar to Bonnie. She had a similar build, the same flawless caramel skin, long and soft dark hair but her green eyes were not a bright and vibrant as his Bonnie's but they were enough.

The entire time he imagined that it was Bonnie he was moving in and out of and that it was her lips that was wrapped around his length, moaning her name as he came.

Even after what she did, he still found himself wanting her.

Maybe he was that pathetic.

"None of your business," he finally replied to her got out of the bed and putting his pants back on, shirt soon following.

"You're leaving?" she pouted and Kol rolled his eyes at her.

The Original finished dressing himself and walked back over to the girl and held her gaze. "You are not going to remember me, you are only going to remember getting drunk and sleeping with some stranger," he compelled. "Now go to sleep," he finished and grabbed his jacket from the chair across the room before leaving the girl's apartment and headed back to the bar where Klaus and Elijah were waiting for him.

He shoved his hands on his jacket pocket and walked along the side walk. The girl only lived a few blocks away from the bar so Kol decided to walk it human pace, giving him time to think.

He thought back to certain moments that he shared with Bonnie, and somehow they made a lot more sense now. The night of the ritual when they were at the grill, he wasn't sure what she was apologising for. He got it now. She was apologising in advance for trying to kill him and his siblings.

The night of the ball when she was upset for reasons she wouldn't explain. She felt guilty of what she was doing. He now believed that she made such a big deal out of the Matt drama because it gave her an excuse to finally get away from him.

Everything she did, every moment they shared was fake. Moments that he considered special obviously meant nothing to her.

When he arrived back at the bar, Klaus and Elijah were exactly where he left them.

"Out of all the girls you could have had, you chose one that looked like Bonnie?" Klaus questioned with a smirk when Kol made his way to them. "Did you call her Bonnie too?" He received no answer. "I thought after fucking a Bonnie look alike, you'd be a little more chipper," Klaus shrugged

"Is it possible for you to shut your mouth for just one moment?" Kol snapped at his brother and ordered himself a drink.

"Calm down, brother," Klaus said with an amused look. "I'm only teasing."

"Well, I'm not in the mood for your games, brother," he spat out venomously.

"Enough, both of you," Elijah spoke up, playing his usual role of the mediator between his two younger brothers. "Kol, we understand that you are angry but we are not who you should be taking it out on."

"Are you saying that I should be making her life a living hell?" Kol questioned Elijah.

Elijah did not just mean Bonnie. He meant all of them but most of all the Salvatore brothers.

"If it makes you feel better," Elijah shrugged and Kol raised a brow at his usually moral brother who was now telling him to unleash hell on the young witch.

"But if you don't mind can it wait until tomorrow?" Klaus asked Kol with an amused smile. "I need her to undo the linking spell Esther placed on us and I need you, Elijah to take Rebekah and get me Finn's blood for the spell."

"Is she strong enough to do so?" Elijah asked and Klaus shrugged.

"She better be and if not I believe that I have the right incentive to make her learn quickly," he answered with his signature sadistic grin.

"What is it?" Kol asked curiously.

"You'll soon find out, brother," Klaus answered him and clapped him on the shoulder before clinking his glass against Kol's and then Elijah's in a silent toast.

xxx

It was six in the morning when Bonnie pulled herself out of the bed, careful not to wake her sleeping friends and she made her way down to the kitchen, in dire need for some water after her junk food filled night.

She found a glass in one of the many cabinets in the Salvatore kitchen and took out a jug of chilled water from the fridge, pouring herself a full glass and drinking the entire thing and pouring herself another glass.

Bonnie picked the glass up to take it back to her room and it nearly slipped from her grasp when she turned around and came face to face (or rather face to chest) with Klaus.

He placed a finger to his lips, signally for her to be quiet so not to wake the sleeping inhabitants of the boarding house, three of which had super hearing.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him and tried to remain calm in his presence.

"I need your help with something and you are going to be a good little witch and help me with it or I will start to kill everyone in this house, starting with your cousin," he threatened with his usual sadistic smirk that made Bonnie glare daggers at him.

"Fine," she agreed. "What is it?"

"Be at the mansion nine o'clock sharp with your grimoire, we will talk more and know that until you show up, my threat is still in place," he sneered and turned on his heel to disappear from her sight as quick as he appeared.

As she made her way back to her room, she wondered what Klaus needed help with. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good.

Bonnie knew she had to go alone, so bringing Lucy with her was out of the question, not that she would want to anyway. She didn't want to put her cousin in any more danger than she already was.

She didn't want to put anyone else she cared about in any more danger.

xxx

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, even I'm a little disturbed by what Kol did...so I do apologise if that offended anyone! I also really dislike Elijah in this…anyone else?
> 
> On a light note, I'm on a roll with updates for this fic! Hehe, I'm quite proud of myself!
> 
> Thank you all so much for your lovely feedback!
> 
> Next chapter: Bonnie has scenes with all the Originals and she might just find out what Kol was doing that night. Will she be jealous? But then Kol may get jealous when Klaus uses a certain someone against Bonnie ;o
> 
> ….plus a lot more! (Including the true brotherly moments between the Originals that I kind of left out of this one)
> 
> Please be honest here…the whole love thing isn't too soon is it? And Bonnie doesn't realise that she loves him yet, she just knows that she cares for him.
> 
> Sorry for any mistakes and pretty please leave a review!
> 
> For anyone who is interested, I have created a Tumblr page especially for my writing. It will have progress updates, pics, ideas, etc. If you are interested in following, my user name is;
> 
> Thedeadmasqueradefanfics


	19. Push and Pull

Bonnie parked her car outside the Mikaelson mansion a few minutes before nine. She reached over and grabbed her bag that contained her grimoire off the passenger seat before getting out of her car.

With every nearing step she took towards the front door, she could feel the nerves building up inside of her; her anxiety [causing](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/19/Fool-Me-Once-Fool-Me-Twice) her hands to slightly shake by her side. It took every ounce of restraint that she had to stop herself from turning back around, jumping back in her car and driving far, far away.

Bonnie raised her hand to knock on the door, chewing on her lower lip as she waiting from someone to [answer](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/19/Fool-Me-Once-Fool-Me-Twice) and hoping that whoever it was wasn't Kol.

Thankfully, it wasn't. But it was Klaus, standing there with his usual smug demeanour that made Bonnie want to set him on fire and listen and bask in his screams.

"Just in time," he commented. "I was just getting reading to send one of my hybrids out."

"Can we just get this over with?" Bonnie asked with an annoyed tone and a glare to go with it. Klaus stepped aside and motioned for Bonnie to come in. "What do you need me to do?" she asked as Klaus led her into the same room where they had drinks at the dinner party.

"I need you to undo my mother's linking spell," he replied and Bonnie just looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"Linking spell? What linking spell?" Bonnie asked and Klaus stared down at her.

"The spell that my mother placed on us to link us together so whatever happens to one happens to all of us," he explained. "Esther did not tell you about that?"

Bonnie shook her head. "When did she do this?"

"During the toast at the ball, she used a drop of Elena's blood and placed it in the champagne. When my siblings and I consumed it she then performed a spell that bound us together," Elijah took over from Klaus when he walked into the room, Rebekah and Kol trailing behind. "We assumed that you would have known about the spell, your cousin did."

"None of that was mentioned to me," Bonnie mumbled and started to feel a little angry with her cousin. Bonnie went to Lucy for her help and she lied to her by saying there wasn't a way to stop it when there was.

"Well, now we need you to undo the spell," Klaus spoke and Bonnie sighed.

"I can't," she replied and Rebekah scoffed from behind her. "I'm serious. When I first met Lucy she used a similar spell to link Katherine to Elena so the Salvatore's wouldn't kill her and I wasn't able to undo it so what makes you think that I'll be able to undo a spell casted by the Original witch when I couldn't even do it when it was my cousin," she tried to explain to them.

"You better learn quickly then," the blonde sneered and Bonnie bit her lip to stop herself from saying something she might end up regretting in a roomful of Originals.

"Why should I do this? Why would I make it harder for Esther to kill all of you?"

"I thought you might say something like this," Klaus chuckled and turned to Kol. "Shall we show her?"

"Show me what?" she questioned, looking back and forth between Kol and Klaus. Klaus took Bonnie by the arm and dragged her back the way they came and Bonnie let out an annoyed groan. "Do you mind not manhandling me?"

The Original hybrid came to a stop in a doorway just near the stairwell and her breath got caught in her throat when she looked into the room.

"Damon," she whispered, mortified by the sight. It was just like the nightmare Kol had sent her but instead of Daniel it was Damon hanging from the animal traps. His shirt was torn open and he had slashes all over his chest.

At the sound of her voice, Damon very weakly raised his head. "Bonnie," his voice was so faint that she nearly missed it.

Bonnie made a move to get to him but she was pulled back into Kol's hard chest, his arms snaking around her waist as he held her the way he used. She felt helpless as she watched Klaus walk up to Damon, the sharp knife he held in his hand digging into Damon's flesh, and a pained groan escaping from the older Salvatore.

"You see, Bonnie, while I was downstairs with you Kol was upstairs collecting a little incentive to make sure that you do as we ask," Klaus spoke and dug the knife in again, twisting it this time. "And if this isn't enough to persuade you, I do have a hybrid on standby prepared to kill the Gilbert boy at my order," he added and turned back to face Bonnie.

_Jeremy._

"So, what do you say, Bonnie, how about that spell?" Klaus grinned evilly as he stalked back towards Bonnie.

The witch tore herself out of Kol's grip and glared at the two vampires. "Fine," she gritted and allowed them to lead her back to the other room.

She pulled her grimoire out of her bag and placed it heavily on the table with a thump before opening it.

"You have until the end of the day to find the spell or my hybrid starts dismembering your boyfriend," Klaus told her and she glanced up at him with a cold glare. "Oh, my apologies…ex-boyfriend," he added with a mocking grin while looking back and forth between Bonnie and Kol, Bonnie nearly fuming while Kol feigned a look of indifference.

"Is it true that he cheated on you with a ghost?" Rebekah asked with some spite. The female Original had overheard the doppelganger and her annoying blond friend speaking about it some time ago.

Bonnie turned to glare at Rebekah, fingernails digging into her palms to stop herself from using her powers to toss the blonde into the nearest wall.

"Niklaus, Rebekah, enough, please," Elijah spoke for the first time in a while, his eyes glancing from his siblings then to Bonnie. Elijah knew that there was only so much taunting the witch could take without eventually retaliating (which would most likely bring her more pain than any of them) and he knew that the more distressed she became the harder it would be for her to perform the spell. "Damon, Jeremy. You do the spell and we leave them be," he said to her with a calm and collected voice.

"I've already said that I will do the spell," she spat out with more venom then she intended. "Just leave me the hell alone while I'm doing it. It's not going to work with all of you lurking over my shoulder."

"You're actions have proven that you are not to be trusted Miss Bennett, so you might understand why leaving you alone in our house does not appeal to us," Elijah replied and Bonnie scowled.

"I'll stay with her," Kol offered and everyone looked to him, including Bonnie.

Just want she needed right now. Kol acting as her baby sitter slash prison guard.

"Fine," Bonnie gritted and pulled her grimoire out of her bag and slammed it down on the table, opening it and flipping roughly through the old pages, not even bothering to listen to the hushed words being shared between the Original siblings, nor taking any notice when all of them but Kol left the room.

"You never told me about Jeremy," Kol spoke when it was just the two of them and Bonnie was flipping through her grimoire for the correct spell to use.

Bonnie looked up from the tattered pages to glance at the Original for a quick second before looking back down. "You didn't need to know and right now I am glad that I didn't because you probably would have killed him," she uttered her answer, using a hint of sarcasm that made Kol roll his eyes at her.

"I still can," he retorted and Bonnie looked up at him with a glare.

"Will you?" she questioned and stopped going through her grimoire to focus on him. "Because you try to scare me by telling me what you did to Amy and send me dreams that you kill my friends but then you are saving me from your sister and healing me."

Kol got up from the chair and stalked over to where she stood by the table, and Bonnie watched his every move with narrowed eyes. He came to a stop behind her and placed his hands either side of her on the table, trapping her.

Bonnie tensed up when Kol lowered his head down next to hers. "Why are you trying to provoke me?" he murmured against her ear, his lips brushing against the shell.

"I'm not," she replied and gripped the edge of the table in an attempt to rid herself of the temptation to lean back into his body but Kol noticed it.

His hands moved from the table and landed on her waist, closing the small space that was between their bodies. He held back his smile when her head fell back to rest against his shoulder and her hands covered his on her waist.

He could practically feel her tension and stress fading.

It was nice to know that he had a real effect on her, the way she leant back into him, the way her hands laced with his and moved them from her waist to wrap around her body. No less than two minutes ago she was hating his guts and now she was relaxing in his arms. She couldn't be faking that kind of reaction.

But she had managed to fool him once, and she could still be now.

It was the sound of a haunting cry of pain echoed through the mansion that snapped Bonnie out of whatever trance Kol had put her in.

"Sounds like Rebekah had found a new plaything," Kol chuckled and Bonnie began to feel sick to her stomach when the sound repeated.

"I thought if I did the spell you wouldn't hurt him," she said and tried to pull herself from Kol.

"When you complete the spell we'll let him go but until then he is fair game," he told her and she could feel him smirking against the side of her face. "There are a few things that I have planned for him," he whispered sadistically against her ear and Bonnie spun around, her hands on his chest and pushed him away from her with the aid of her magic. Kol chuckled in amusement but thankfully stayed away from her.

"I found the spell," she muttered and turned back to her grimoire.

Bonnie relished in the few moments that she was left alone after Kol left to go tell Klaus. Being in this mansion with the Originals made her feel like she was suffocating, she felt claustrophobic. Not able to make a single movement without one of them watching, intervening. That paired with the nauseas feeling in her stomach, she was beginning to feel rather distressed.

And the sound of Damon's scream were not helping.

She was beginning to place the candles around the table when Kol came back in the room with Klaus behind him.

"It's about time," Klaus sneered and stood across the table from her, Kol standing next to her.

Klaus placed a golden chalice type cup along with three bottles on the table, all filled with a deep red liquid – blood. She needed to separate their blood.

"Rebekah, Elijah and Finn's blood," Klaus told her.

Bonnie looked up at Klaus and froze when she saw his glowing yellow eyes, his mouth opened and Bonnie caught sight of his sharp fangs before he brought his hand to his mouth, tearing into it and Bonnie shuddered at the sound of his skin tearing.

The hybrid held out his closed hand and Bonnie picked up the chalice, eyes glaring into Klaus' as his blood dripped into the cup. When his wound healed he pulled his hand away and Bonnie reluctantly turned to Kol, waiting for him to do the same.

Unlike with Klaus, Bonnie didn't flinch or shudder at the sight of Kol's vampire face, she'd seen it before when they exchanged blood but this time it seemed more threatening.

He too bit into his hand and let the blood fall into the chalice, eyes never leaving hers as he did so. "You want some?" he asked her with a smirk and held his hand out to her, his eyes daring her to take some.

If wasn't for Klaus being in the room she just might have.

"Maybe some other time," she said with some spite before turning back to the table. She placed the cup back and reached for the other three bottles, pouring some of the contents of each into the cup.

She used her magic to light the surrounding candles and began to pour the blood from the cup and onto the table, creating a medium sized circle in the centre while chanting.

" _Fes Matos Ex Solves Exis Pa Unis Animotos Di Conjuncto Sol Facto Fes Matos De Vos Male."_

Kol and Klaus watched as she performed the spell, Kol focusing on her whilst Klaus watched as the blood on the table began to move and separate, each moving to one of the five candles placed around the table.

It was working.

Bonnie started to worry when she felt the blood start to drip from her nose. It had been a while since she last had a nosebleed from magic but this was a big spell, she couldn't even tell if it was working or not. She couldn't bring herself to open her eyes, to see the Originals standing near her.

Still chanting, her hands gripped on the edge of the table for support when she began to feel light headed and dizzy. It was all becoming too much. She felt a hand on her lower back, keeping her steady when she swayed a little bit.

Kol.

The way his hand ran up and down her back…it almost seemed like he was encouraging her. Letting her know that he knew she could do this. That she was strong enough.

And it helped.

Bonnie regained her focus and continued the spell, a new confidence in her voice.

Klaus' gaze flickered between the witch and his brother, the slight smile on his brother's face made Klaus think that Kol was proud of the witch. Klaus wondered if Kol even realised what he was doing.

Bonnie's eyes opened. "It's done," she spoke to Klaus as she whipped the small amount of blood from her nose on her sleeve.

Klaus nodded to Bonnie and she knew that that was about as much of a 'thanks' that she was going to get from the hybrid.

"Damon?" Bonnie asked.

"I'll have Rebekah release him," he told her and it was Bonnie's turn to nod.

Klaus left to inform Elijah and Rebekah that the spell had been successful, once again leaving Bonnie alone with Kol.

"Are you alright?" he couldn't stop himself from asking and his concern led him to placing a hand on her cheek.

"I'm fine," she shrugged him off and began to put out the candles and pack away her grimoire.

She wasn't.

Kol cursed when Bonnie fell back against him, going limp in his arms as she passed out. Kol lifted her up in his arms with ease and moved her over to the couch, carefully laying her down.

xxx

Elijah walked into the room and saw Bonnie unconscious on the couch, her head in Kol's lap while his fingers threaded through her hair soothingly.

"What happened?" Elijah asked and walked further into the room.

"She passed out," he answered without taking his eyes off the witch.

Elijah took a seat on the chair across from his brother, leaning forward with his elbows resting his knees, fingers laced under his chin as he watched his brother tend to the witch.

"I'm so pathetic," Kol commented with a dry laugh. "I can't even bring myself to hurt her."

"I wouldn't call that pathetic," Elijah replied. "We are not meant to hurt the ones we love."

Kol chuckled. "Unrequited love sure can be a bitch then."

Elijah smiled at his brother. "What if not all of it was a lie?" he asked Kol. "What if part of her did return your feelings?"

Kol looked up at his older brother, the look in his eye reminded Elijah of when they were younger. Kol had a crush on a girl in their village and was convinced that she did not return those feelings and went to Elijah for help. He had to same look.

Hope.

xxx

When Bonnie finally awoke, Kol was gone but Elijah was still there. Elijah had convinced his younger brother that it probably was not the best for him to be here when she woke.

"You passed out after the spell," Elijah told her before she could ask what happened.

"How long was I out?" she asked and gratefully took the glass of water that he handed to her.

"Two hours. You and Damon are free to leave now," he said and Bonnie sat up on the couch, Elijah helping her when she lost some balance, still feeling a bit weak from the spell.

It had been awhile since she performed a spell that powerful.

"The spell worked then?" she asked the Original and he nodded his head as he handed her bag to her.

As Elijah led her into the foyer she noticed that the sun was beginning to set outside. She hadn't even realised that she'd been here nearly all day.

Bonnie gasped when she caught sight of Damon. He looked terrible this morning when she first saw him but now… he actually looked dead. He could barely raise his head to look at her as she stepped into the room.

Rebekah appeared from behind her and released Damon from the animal traps and he went crashing down to the floor below, Bonnie immediately dropping down beside him. "Damon," she breathed and pushed some of his sweat drenched hair off his forehead before resting her hand on his cheek. "Can you walk?" she asked him when he looked up at her.

Rebekah only rolled her eyes at the two of them and muttered a quick ' _pathetic_ ' before she walked out of the room, passing Kol on the way.

"Blood," Damon's reply was soft, only just a whisper but she still managed to hear him. Bonnie nodded and brought her other hand up, resting her wrist against his mouth. "No," she heard his muffled voice against her wrist and tried to pull away but her other hand on his cheek kept him there.

"You need blood," she said.

The only time Bonnie had ever willingly given blood to a vampire was with Kol, but she trusted Damon and he needed it.

Kol, who had been watching, growled at the thought of Bonnie letting Damon drink her blood and sped over and pulled her away from Damon, holding her tightly against him. "He is not drinking your blood," he said as he pulled her from the room.

Damon looked up, but he was too weak to do anything else except watch as Bonnie was taken from sight.

"What the hell is your problem?" she questioned as he let her go but kept a hold of her hand as he dragged her through the mansion and into the kitchen.

"I'm not going to let you give him your blood," he said.

"Well, it's not your decision to make. He is too weak to move on his own so unless you want to help me take him back to his house I need to give him blood," she replied exasperatedly, tired of being pulled, pushed and dragged around all day.

"He's not drinking yours!" he gritted and Bonnie half expected him to stomp his foot on the ground like a child.

"And why not?" She questioned and placed her hands on her hips. "I let you drink my blood so what's the difference?"

She knew the difference.

"That was different," Kol replied and Bonnie tilted her head at him. "You and I were together."

"So?" Bonnie asked with a shrug.

"So? So we cared about each other," he answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I never cared about you," she scoffed and then immediately regretted it when she saw the look on his face. He looked like she had just slapped him in the face. "Kol, I didn't…" she tried but he silenced her and turned around to pull something out of the refrigerator.

Why did she have to say that?

He made his way back over to her and she saw that he held a blood bag in his hands which he shoved to her as he walked passed.

"Kol, wait," she pleaded and reached for his arm, her hand curling around his forearm to stop him from leaving.

"Just take Damon and go before I do something that will give you a real reason to hate me," he said and ripped his arm from her grasp before walking away, leaving her alone in the kitchen.

"I care about you more than I should," she whispered after him with a sigh.

"Then why do that do him?" Bonnie heard Rebekah ask from the other entrance to the kitchen. "If you care about him, why hurt him?" she continued and walked further into the room.

"I didn't want to," Bonnie replied honestly. "I didn't want to be a part in any of this."

"Let me guess, the Salvatore's guilt tripped you in to it by using Miss Elena?" she questioned, spitting out Elena's name with nothing but disgust and hatred.

"Something like that," she mumbled and looked down at the blood bag in her hands. "I should get this to Damon."

"He can wait, it's not like he is going anywhere and this is more important," Rebekah said and took the bag from Bonnie's hand and tossed it on the counter next to them. "Sit," she said and pointed to one of the stools surrounding the counter.

The witch sighed and sat down and looked to the blonde to start talking and get this over with so Bonnie could get Damon back to the boarding house.

"I don't understand you, Bonnie," Rebekah said, head tilting slightly to the side as she studied the witch.

"I didn't ask you to," Bonnie uttered.

"You should consider yourself lucky," she told her and the witch glanced up at her questioningly. "Kol had already destroyed Amy by this time and yet he's done nothing to you."

"I wouldn't say that," Bonnie replied bitterly, thinking of Daniel and Lucas, one dead, the other only just getting back to normal after Kol's attack.

"Still, one can't help but wonder why he's letting you get away with this. What you did was much worse than what she did. She just wanted to become immortal; you wanted to kill us all," her eyes slightly narrowed. "All of us had our suspicions about her but none about you – well except for Elijah," she said. "Not even Klaus."

"Then that's your own fault. The witch that tried to kill your brother is getting close to you and you don't find it suspicious? Thank god you lot have Elijah," Bonnie said in a tone that made Rebekah glower.

"If you don't want a repeat of the other day then I suggest you watch your tone," the blonde Original warned. "Kol won't be here to protect you this time."

"Why was he even there in the first place?" Bonnie wondered out loud.

"I asked myself and him the same question and he had no answer," Rebekah answered. "Well, no good answer," the blonde corrected herself. "I have to say that I am surprised that you don't have any bruising around your neck," she said with an amused smile.

"He gave me his blood," Bonnie told her and all humour dropped from the Original's face.

"He gave you his blood; even after what you did he still gave you his blood?" Rebekah was actually stunned. There was more to this than Kol was letting on. There had to be and she now intended to find out just what it was.

He might love Bonnie but he loved Amy too and he didn't think twice about destroying her when she betrayed him.

So what makes Bonnie so different?

xxx

Bonnie snatched the blood bag up off the counter and hopped off the stool, quickly making her way back to Damon. When she finally reached him, she knelt down next to him. "Here," she said and handed him the blood bag.

"What took so long?" he mumbled impatiently and tore into the bag.

"You're welcome," she replied sarcastically and stood back up. "I got held up by Rebekah," she told him.

Damon finished off the bag in record time and got to his feet, stumbling a little but Bonnie steadied him. "Let's get the hell out of here," he said and regained his balance. He'd probably need another two or so blood bags to get back to his full strength.

They made it to Bonnie's car without running into any more Originals (something they were both thankful for) and Bonnie pulled out of the Mikaelson mansion and drove off in the direction of the boarding house.

"I'm sorry that happened to you," Bonnie said once they were on the road.

Damon shrugged. "It wasn't the first time I've been tortured and I doubt it will be the last."

"But still…sorry," she said and turned her eyes back to the road.

"This is probably stating the obvious but did you unlink them?" he asked her and moved around in the seat, most likely still feeling a tad uncomfortable after being tortured for hours.

"Between them torturing you and threatening Jeremy I didn't really have much of a choice," she answered. "God, Stefan is going to kill me," she added with a light laugh.

Out of everyone, Stefan was the most determined to destroy the Originals and he definitely would not be pleased to hear that she has made that much harder now that she has unlinked them.

"Don't worry about Stefan, I'll handle him," Damon said to her and Bonnie looked back over to him, concern all over her face.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"After a few more blood cocktails, I'll be just peachy," he winked. "But what about you?" he asked her, his expression softening. "I'm sure they pulled quite a bit of emotional torture on you."

Bonnie sighed inwardly and kept her eyes on the road. "Something like that," she answered with a frown.

"What'd you say to Kol to piss him off?" Damon asked.

"What'd you mean?"

"He decided to come back and kick the crap out of me a few more times before leaving," he told her and Bonnie snapped around to look at him, eye's wide. "Nearly staked me," he added in an amused tone. "Hey, eyes back on road. After being tortured all day I don't feel like getting into a car accident," he playfully scolded her but she found no humour in it.

That must have been why Rebekah tried to keep her in the kitchen instead of getting back to Damon.

"I think he's jealous of me," Damon added and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

They both knew that he was right - Bonnie more so than Damon. The Bennett witch had experienced Kol's jealousy towards Damon first hand, the Original nearly threw a fit to find out the Salvatore had been in her bedroom.

Bonnie never did really understand why Kol was so jealous over Damon.

By the time they arrived back at the boarding house, Damon was beyond desperate to get out of his torn and bloodied clothes and to tear into a nice fresh blood bag…or three.

Bonnie helped Damon out of the car and the two

"Where the hell have you two been?" Stefan questioned without looking up when he heard Damon and Bonnie's footsteps.

"I guess you could say that we were…detained," Damon answered and all but threw himself down on the couch while Bonnie sat on the chair across from him.

Stefan finally looked up, eyes widening as he noticed the state his brother was in along with the clear distress all over the young witch's face. "What happened?" he asked, his voice softer this time and full of concern.

"Klaus forced me to undo the linking spell that Esther cast the night of the ball," Bonnie replied and leant her head back against the plush chair, eyes closing as she braced herself for Stefan's outburst.

It never came.

"They used Damon as leverage to get you to agree," Stefan said knowingly and Bonnie nodded her head at him.

"And Jeremy," she added. "Klaus has got a hybrid up in Denver ready to kill him if needed."

Stefan let out a heavy sigh and leant back in his seat, most likely trying to think of another way to take out the Originals, an attempt that Bonnie now believed to be futile. Every time they tried, the Originals had been one step ahead and managed to intervene.

Giving up was starting to become more and more appealing to the young witch.

"How about we change our names and move to Italy?" Damon suggested, obviously thinking the same as Bonnie.

"No," Stefan snapped. "Klaus took everything from me," he gritted, knuckles turning white as he gripped tightly to the wooden armrest of the chair. "I'm not going to give up until they are all dead."

"There's nothing else we can do, Stefan. They are too strong," Bonnie tried to reason with the young Salvatore. "I gave Klaus an aneurism a few months ago and I wasn't able to do magic for the rest of the day." It was also the same day she found out who Kol was.

"There has to be another way," Stefan uttered, his tight grip snapping the armrest.

"You're paying for that," Damon told him when he sat up at the  _snap_.

"There is no other way, Stefan," Bonnie said. "If there was don't you think we would have found it by now?"

Stefan growled and stood up. "Fine, you two give up but I'm not," he snapped and stomped out of the room, Damon and Bonnie sharing matching looks as he left.

Damon, who was still desperate to get rid of the blood smeared all over him, left soon after Stefan and Bonnie decided to head home but was joined at the front door by Lucy.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay here the night?" Lucy asked as she walked Bonnie to her car, the older Bennett wanting to make sure that Bonnie had no surprises of the Original vampire variety waiting for her outside.

"My dad is coming home tonight, I need to be there," Bonnie answered, fishing her car keys from her bag.

"After today I don't exactly feel right about leaving you alone," Lucy said and Bonnie gave her cousin a small smile.

"Can I ask you something?" Lucy nodded. "Why didn't you tell me about the linking spell?" Bonnie asked when they reached her car. "I asked if there was a way to save Kol and you said there wasn't. You lied to me."

"I was trying to keep you safe, believe me you are better off without him in your life," she answered honestly.

"I just wish you left that decision up to me," Bonnie responded.

"You were beginning to become blinded by him. I could see it in your eyes. I didn't want you to be wrapped up with an Original vampire; he won't bring you anything but pain and unhappiness."

"You don't know him," she replied. "I actually feel like myself around him, and I feel wanted which something I haven't felt in a while," she added with a frown.

Since becoming a witch, Bonnie felt like everyone only wanted her for her abilities. Even her friends. But Kol wanted her for everything but her magic; he said that her being a witch was just a bonus. And he never asked her for anything, the only thing he wanted from her was for her to trust him. He gave her his trust and in return she threw it back in his face.

"It was just a phase, honey," Lucy told her but both of them knew it was a lie. "You'll find someone you can be yourself around, someone who will actually be good for you and to you," she finished and wrapped her arms around Bonnie.

"Call me when you get home so I know your safe," Lucy added when she pulled away and allowed Bonnie to unlock her car to get in.

xxx

Bonnie arrived at her home that night, feeling over stressed and emotional along with an overwhelming need to be alone, but it all floated away when she saw her father's car parked out in the driveway. She practically ran inside, throwing her bag down on the chair next to the door and followed the sounds of her dad's and his girlfriend' Sally's voice which led her to the kitchen.

"Daddy!" she yelled out happily and threw herself at her father. "You said you'd call me when you got back," she said as she pulled away from him and gave Sally a hug.

"We wanted to surprise you," Sally smiled. "Turns out I'm the one who was surprised," she added and Bonnie looked at her with a confused look.

"You didn't tell me that you got a new boyfriend," Sally answered with a cheeky grin. "A rather charming and gorgeous one at that," she added and looked over Bonnie's shoulder and she could feel her all her previous stress and anxiousness flooding back to her when she heard his voice from behind her.

"Oh you flatter me, Sally," he said and placed an arm around Bonnie's waist and kissed her on the cheek.

"Kol," she said surprised and tried her best to act like she was happy to see him. "What are you doing here?" she asked and looked at him, her icy glare hidden to both her father and Sally.

"I came to see you but you weren't home," he replied with a sneaky grin.

"You two are so cute," Sally gushed while her father just grunted. No one would ever be good enough for his baby girl. He liked the Gilbert boy but not even he was good enough.

Bonnie sent Sally a smile, her nails digging into the Original's impenetrable skin while she spoke. "Would you mind if I spoke to Kol for a minute?" she asked her father and Sally.

"Of course," Sally grinned and turned to Kol. "Will you be staying for dinner?"

Please say no, please say no.

"I would love to," Kol replied with a charming smile that nearly made Sally blush.

Bonnie dragged Kol from the kitchen, her father calling behind her, "leave the door open!" followed by a 'ompf' sound as Sally whacked him on the shoulder, mumbling something about Bonnie being grown up.

The witch practically pushed Kol inside her bedroom. "What the hell do you think you are doing?" she fired at him as soon as her bedroom door was closed.

"You were mean to me," he pouted at her.

"This isn't a joke, Kol," she said and dug her nails into her palm in an attempt to stop herself from repeating the slap that took place in her room only yesterday morning. "I told you to stay away from him."

"No, you asked me to stay away and I never answered," he clarified with a smug grin.

"So what? You came here to kill my family because I hurt your feelings?" she questioned and gave him a look of pure annoyance.

"Who said anything about killing? Maybe I just want to make you feel incredibly uncomfortable for my own amusement," he answered.

"You're insane," Bonnie glowered at him. "What were you even doing here in the first place?" she questioned once she realised that Kol had no way of knowing that her dad was returning tonight and as far as he knew she was staying at the boarding house with her cousin and the Salvatore's.

"I was in the neighbourhood," he shrugged, "looking for a snack."

"Trying to eat my neighbours now are you?"

"Trying to? I already ate," he told her with a wink that made her sick to her stomach.

She wanted to demand him to tell her who but she couldn't. She didn't want to know. She didn't want to know who had just lost their life because of her. Dealing with guilt was not her strong point. Hell, she felt fucking guilty just for thinking that.

"Are you alright, love, you look a little sick," Kol said to her with a fake look of concern. He was just fucking with her now, she could tell.

"Go to hell," she said and smacked away his hand that was about to touch her face in a mock attempt to feel her forehead.

"I probably already am," he chuckled.

"Haven't you caused me enough hell today?" she questioned him, her voice rising slightly in volume.

"Can you honestly say that you don't deserve it?" Kol shot back and took a threatening step forward. "You caused this. You brought this upon yourself," he said and stopped right in front of her.

"You killed someone I cared about. Doesn't that make us even?"

"Not in the slightest."

"Then we never will be," she said. "And I don't about you but I'm not interested in going back and forward trying to see who can hurt the other more because that is essentially what we'll be doing."

Bonnie waited for him to reply but he never did and eventually she got tired of waiting. "Let's just go downstairs and get this over with," she grumbled and left her room, not waiting for him to follow.

xxx

Dinner was awkward to say the least, well it was for Bonnie. Kol seemed to be having the time of his life watching her squirm with discomfort in her seat. But thankfully it was all over and she could finally kick Kol out of her house.

The Original said his goodbyes to her father and Sally (completely charming them in the process) before Bonnie walked him to the front door.

"Okay, you've had your fun now stay away from them," she said to Kol as soon as they were outside.

He wasn't listening though. As soon as they were outside, everything changed. The twinkle in his eye, his annoying little smirk…it was all gone and back was the same expression he had earlier, back at the mansion.

"Did you mean it? When you said you never cared about me?" he turned around and asked, his hand rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

Bonnie looked up at him, their eyes locking. "What?" How could he even ask that?

"What we did together… you had to at least have some kind of feelings for me," he continued, searching her eyes for an honest answer.

"You know I didn't mean it," she answered and he looked up. "Even ask Rebekah, she knows."

"I don't want to hear it from Rebekah I want to hear it from you," he said and closed the space between them.

Bonnie sighed inwardly. "What do you want me to say, Kol? That I started off not giving a damn about you to caring about you and wanting to save you," she admitted.

"Save me?" he repeated her and she nodded.

"The night of the ball when you found me in your room, I had just finished talking to Lucy about trying to find a way to save you from your mother. She said there wasn't even though there was," she revealed to him. "If I had known about the linking spell then I would never have let you drink the champagne," she said and reached for his hand and he let her. "I hate what I did to you," she confessed while looking down at their hands.

"That's why you were able to walk away from us so easily wasn't it?"

"I will admit, what you did to Matt gave me an excuse to walk away but it wasn't easy," she said, her thumb brushing along the back of his hand. "None of it was," she muttered under her breath.

There was a pregnant pause between them; she finally looked up at him to see him looking back. Their eyes were locked, all facades were dropped and all that was left was the raw and true emotion each held. She couldn't stop herself. She stood up on her toes, lips slowly pressing to his.

Their lips brushed, just slightly at first – barely even touching. Bonnie's hands rested gently on Kol's neck while his settled on her waist and more pressure was added to the kiss.

Bonnie sighed as Kol's arm snaked around her back to bring her closer to him, deepening the kiss at the same time.

All within a second, the kiss was broken and they jumped away from each other, Bonnie's fingers touching her lips in confusion as Kol just glared at her. Something had happened. Neither knew what. It was like a spark had passed between them, like a shock of electricity that caused them to pull away.

"What the hell did you just do to me?" Kol snarled to her, pushing her away from him.

"I didn't do anything!"

"You did!" he accused. "What did you do?" he repeated in a low, dangerous voice.

"I don't know! I don't know what that was!" She tried to tell him but he wouldn't hear it. She was just as confused as to what happened as he was. "I swear I did nothing," she tried again.

"Why should I believe you?" he questioned with narrowed eyes.

She had no response to that. Bonnie couldn't really blame him for not believing her; she hadn't exactly given him a reason to after what she did.

Kol gave a bitter chuckle. "I guess that's what I get for even beginning to think that you had some actual feelings for me."

Bonnie wanted to say that she did have real feelings for him, that she truly cared for him but right now she knew that he would never believe her. It would only be in vain.

"You are becoming quite skilled in tricking me, Bonnie," he added with a twisted but broken smile.

Bonnie regrettably said nothing as she watched him walk away from her. She just stood there and watched him leave with a single question playing around inside her head.

_What the hell had just happened here?_

xxx

Klaus was waiting for Kol when he returned back to the mansion. "Brother!" he greeted excitedly and clapped a hand on his shoulder. "I have a little surprise for you," he told Kol and the hybrid led Kol to his room and opened the door to reveal the girl from the previous night, the one that looked like Bonnie.

"What is she doing here?" Kol asked Klaus with a raised brow.

"I thought after today you could use a little pick me up," Klaus smirked. "And who better than a Bonnie look alike to take your anger out on." The hybrid gave his brother's shoulder one last squeeze before leaving him alone.

When Klaus left his room, Kol went over to her and undid his previous compulsion on her, watching as she went from being in a dazed trance to perky and excited.

"Kol!" she squealed happily and wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug that he did not return. "Your brother said you needed some cheering up," she with a tone that Kol thinks was meant to be seductive.

She stood on her toes, lips connecting with his in a kiss that he was not all invested in and she could tell. Her lips moved to his ear, nipping gently before whispering to him. "I can be her… Bonnie."

A low growl rumbled in his chest at her words. That truly was not what she should have said. After what happened outside her house, for the first time Kol actually wanted to hurt her. She'd done something to him. He could feel it.

Bonnie had managed to trick him again.

Kol gripped onto the girl's hair tightly and yanked it back, pulling her head away from his neck. Her happy, excited and flirtatious face vanishing, and replaced by fear and horror at the sight of his black eyes with surrounding veins and sharp fangs.

A piercing scream filled his ears and echoed around the room as his fangs harshly sliced into the flesh of her neck.

xxx

Esther paced all over the study of her safe house, concern and worry filling her up. Finn had not made any contact with her since he left a few days ago.

She was beginning to fear that perhaps Niklaus had gotten to him, but he could not dagger him, not until they had been unlinked. Esther hoped that the linking spell was still in place, there was one other way for her to complete her task.

She had to fix her mistake and all she needed was for Kol and Bonnie to make physical contact – a kiss.

The kiss will ignite the flame and when the flame goes out, all will be done. Esther will have succeeded her task and she would finally be able to rest in peace.

Esther watched as the candle on the table in the centre of the room lit up and began to flicker brightly.

It had started.

xxx


	20. What Is Going On?

Kol spent majority of the [next](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/20/Fool-Me-Once-Fool-Me-Twice) morning in bed, the unconscious form lying limp next to him, bleeding all over the sheets and pillows but Kol really couldn't care less because for the first time in a very long time he physically felt horrible.

If it weren't for the fact that it was impossible for vampires to get sick he might have thought he was coming down with something.

He felt weak…like he was being drained…like he hadn't had blood in ages. But he had been drinking all throughout the night; he was honestly surprised that she wasn't dead yet even if he had been feeding her his blood every now and then.

What the hell was going on?

He knew that it had something to do with what happened last night. Something happened during that kiss he shared with Bonnie. She must have done something to him.

She had to of.

Who else other than a witch could cause this?

He needed to find out what she did.

The Original pulled himself up, the sudden movement made him dizzy.

This was not normal.

"Elijah!" he called out as he swung his legs over the side of the bed, head hung as he tried to rid the light headed feeling

His door opened moments later and Elijah strolled through, his usually calm and collected demeanour dropping at the sight of his brother.

"Something's wrong," Kol [spoke](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/20/Fool-Me-Once-Fool-Me-Twice), his hands clutching at the edge of the bed as he was hit with another phase of dizziness.

"What is it?" Elijah asked and knelt down on the floor beside his brother, hand on his shoulder.

"I don't know but something's not right," he replied and lifted his head.

"Have you been feeding?" Elijah asked and Kol scoffed before motioning to the bleeding girl lying on the bed behind him. Elijah frowned quickly before turning his attention back to his brother. "Perhaps there was something in her blood, traces of vervain maybe?" he suggested but Kol shook it off.

"No. Her blood was clean. It's Bonnie," he said winched slightly as he tried to move. "She did this."

"Bonnie?" Elijah questioned with furrowed brows. "What do you mean?"

"Last night…she kissed me and something happened," he [explained](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/20/Fool-Me-Once-Fool-Me-Twice) and Elijah helped to steady him when he stood. "It was like she shocked me."

"So what…you think she put some kind of spell on you?" Elijah asked as Kol slipped a shirt over his head.

"I don't know what else to think," Kol replied and made his way to the door but Elijah stopped him by raising his arm, blocking the doorway.

"Where are you going?"

"Where do you think? Bonnie," he replied and tried to push past him but in his weakened state he couldn't do much.

"No, you are not. You are staying here until we figure out what is going on," Elijah responded with a firm voice.

"I have figured it out, Elijah."

"Why don't you let me talk to Bonnie? I don't think you are in any state to leave the house right now," Elijah said and led Kol back over to his bed, sitting him down. "I will take care of this," he promised his younger brother. "I'll have Rebekah bring you up some blood bags," he said before he left the room.

Kol watched his brother leave his room and waited until the sounds of his footsteps disappeared before getting back off the bed and walking over to his balcony. He threw opened the glass doors and launched himself over the balcony.

Any other day he would have landed effortlessly and gracefully on his feet, today not so much. He picked himself up off the ground with an annoyed groan and used his vampiric speed in the direction of Bonnie's house.

xxx

"What did Kol want?" Rebekah asked when Elijah returned back downstairs.

Elijah did not reply but went straight to the fridge and pulled out three of their freshest blood bags. Turning to Rebekah he held them out. "I need you to give these to Kol," he said to her but she just looked at him with confusion.

"He has a perfectly healthy chew toy upstairs, why does he need these?" She questioned with a bored look.

"Rebekah, I do not have time to explain, I need to go speak to Miss Bennett, just do it," he said and all but shoved the blood bags into his only sister's hands.

Rebekah's eyes rolled at the mention of the Bennett witch. "What has she done now?"

"I'm not sure, just something I need to find out," he answered and looked down to the blood bags in his sister's hands. "Just give them to Kol," he said and gave the blonde a quick smile before he left the kitchen and headed to the study to pick up his suit jacket.

"Elijah!" her voice called out as she sped into the study. "He's not there," she said and tossed the blood bags on one of the desks.

"What do you mean he's not there?" Elijah asked.

"I mean he left. The balcony door was open," she told him and the older Original silently cussed. "Okay what is really going on?" Rebekah asked. Elijah was not normally this protective over Kol.

"Honestly I don't know but I think I know where he went," he replied and strode out of the study, Rebekah trailing behind. She was going with him and he wasn't going to complain. With the way Kol's acting at the moment, he might need all the help he could get to restrain his younger and reckless brother.

xxx

Bonnie and Caroline left the Bennett house and Caroline began to furiously tap on the witch's arm while her back was turned as she locked the front door behind the two of them.

"What?" Bonnie asked, slightly annoyed as she turned to her vampire friend who wasn't even looking at her but straight ahead. Bonnie followed the vampire's gaze and her stomach dropped when she saw Kol coming towards them.

As the witch studied the Original she noticed that something was off. Though he was walking straight, he seemed slightly uncoordinated in his movements, swaying every now and then.

"Kol?" Bonnie called and walked closer to him, Caroline following closely behind ready to jump in and pull her friend back at any moment. "Are you okay?" she asked with concern as she looked over him. He looked sick.

Bonnie raised a hand to Kol's cheek but he harshly slapped it away. "What did you do to me?" he hissed and Caroline looked to Bonnie, confused.

"This again?" Bonnie questioned with a frustrated sigh. She honestly had no idea what he was going on about.

"What is going on?" Caroline asked and looked back and forth from Kol and Bonnie, trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

"Stay out of it!" Kol snarled to the blonde before turning back to Bonnie.

"Kol, calm down!" Bonnie said firmly and stepped closer to him and placed a hand on his chest in an attempt to calm him. It seemed to work as he looked down at her. "Tell me what's going on," she said softly. "What's wrong?"

"Stop acting like you don't know," he growled and gripped onto her wrist almost painfully, her slight wince causing Caroline to jump in.

"Hey! Back off!" Caroline yelled and used as much strength as she could and pushed Kol away from Bonnie, pushing him back a few paces. The blonde turned away from Kol and face Bonnie, her face softening. "Are you okay?" she asked her and Bonnie nodded.

The witch's eyes widened when she saw Kol appear right behind Caroline but before she could even say anything his hands were on either side of the blonde's head and Bonnie let out a sharp gasp of horror as she watched Kol snap Caroline's neck to the side and let her fall limp and lifeless to the ground.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Bonnie yelled at Kol who just stood above them, looking furious and insane. Bonnie knelt down next to Caroline, feeling unsure of what to do. A vampire getting their neck snapped didn't kill them, did it?

"Kol!" Bonnie heard a strong voice bellow from nearby. The witch looked past Kol and saw Elijah and Rebekah quickly making their way towards them.

Bonnie cradled Caroline's head in her lap, stroking her hair as she watched Elijah take a hold of Kol and roughly pushing him to Rebekah who easily got a hold of him in his seemingly weakened state.

"Get him home, make sure he doesn't leave," Elijah told Rebekah who nodded, getting Kol away from Bonnie as quickly as possible.

"You should get her inside before one of you neighbours notice," Elijah said and he knelt down, one arm under Caroline's knees and the other behind her neck, lifted her up in his arms.

"Snapping a vampire's neck doesn't kill them, right?" she asked and Elijah let out a chuckle.

"Definitely not," he answered and walked up the steps of the porch and waited for Bonnie to unlock the front door.

The witch invited the Original in, something she wasn't too please about but she couldn't carry Caroline inside and she knee Elijah wouldn't take advantage of the invite. He may not exactly like her right now after what she did, but he wasn't the sort to just kill.

Elijah carried Caroline to the couch, and Bonnie placed a pillow behind her friend's head for some comfort when she woke up. She through a blanket over the blonde vampire that way if her dad or Sally expectantly returned home from work early it would just look like Caroline fell asleep rather than had her neck snapped by a crazy Original that had a grudge against Bonnie.

"How long will it take for her to wake up?" she asked Elijah, her eyes on her friend.

"Should not be too long," he answered.

Bonnie nodded then frowned. "What was wrong with him?" she asked and although she was pissed as all hell at him for what he did, she could not stop the concern from leaking out in her voice.

"We are not too sure but he seems to think that you have something to do with it and I am here to find out if that is true or not," Elijah replied and Bonnie walked out of the living room and to the hallway, Elijah following behind her.

"Do you actually think that I did something?" She folded her arms over her chest.

"Given your previous actions I think you can understand why he believes that," he replied and she knew he was right.

"I didn't do anything, Elijah," she told him, looking him straight in the eyes. "Vampires can tell when you're lying, right?" he nodded and she took a step forwards. "Am I lying?"

"You have managed to fool us in the past, Miss Bennett," Elijah answered. "But on this occasion…I do believe you," he added and Bonnie gave him a small but grateful smile. "I should be getting back to him, see how he is," Elijah said. "And don't worry, Miss Forbes should awake shortly," he added and Bonnie nodded, silently thanking him for his help before he opened the door and walked out.

Bonnie shut the door behind him with a heavy sigh, her back leaning against the door. It wasn't even ten in the morning and already everything seemed to be falling apart. She pushed herself off the door and made her way back to the living room to check on Caroline before seating on the chair across from the couch and waited for her friend to wake up.

As she waited, her mind drifted to Kol. She hated him for what he just did but she couldn't help but worry for him at the same time. Elijah had confirmed that there was something up but even he did not know what.

She shouldn't even be worried about him after he snapped Caroline's neck, whatever is happening he deserves so she tried to push Kol out of her mind by picking up one of the entertainment magazines on the coffee table, hoping that the mindless gossip would distract her from Kol, at least until Caroline woke up.

xxx

Elijah made it back to the mansion and headed straight to Kol's room, pleased to find him there and not anywhere else.

"You look a little better," he commented to his brother, noticing a little colour had returned to his face.

"I drained the rest of that girl as soon as I got back but I don't feel much better," he replied with a shrug.

"Nik is getting rid of the body now," Rebekah said from the chair next to the balcony.

"Did you find out if Bonnie did it?" Kol asked and Elijah shook his head.

"I don't believe that Bonnie is to blame for whatever it is that you have," he answered and Kol scowled.

"I know she did this," he muttered darkly.

"And what exactly is 'this'?" Rebekah questioned but neither brother answered. They had no answer to give after all.

"You should rest, maybe it will pass with time," Elijah said to Kol who only looked at his brother with a doubtful expression.

"Fine," he gritted, he hated be told what to do. "But not because you told me, but because I'm so damned tired." He hadn't felt this exhausted since he was human.

"We will bring up some blood hourly," Elijah said. "But please just remain in here and if something is wrong call for us, don't go back to Bonnie, come to us," he finished and Kol rolled his eyes at his brother but agreed nonetheless.

Rebekah stood and followed her brother out of the room, allowing Kol to rest.

Kol sighed in relief when his siblings finally left him alone. He did care for his brother, a lot, but he did get overbearing at time. Elijah had always been protective over all of them, especially when they were hurt or sick (the sick part only occurring when they were human) but Kol was grateful to have a brother that cared so much about them.

xxx

Early the next morning, Rebekah entered Kol's room

"What the…" Rebekah trailed off as she looked over Kol's hand, lifting up for a closer inspection. All his veins in his hands were completely visible through the skin, like some sort of black liquid was making its way through his bloodstream, starting with his hands. "Elijah! Nik!" she yelled out, waking the sleeping Kol at the same time.

"Bex?" Kol groaned sleepily. "What's going on?"

"Your hand," she said and held it up so he could see it, his eyes widening when he saw the dark veins.

Nik and Elijah arrived into Kol's room only seconds after she had called for them.

"What is it?" Nik asked, slightly annoyed from being woken by his sisters screeching voice.

Rebekah held Kol's hand out. "Look at this," she said and Elijah walked closer, inspecting Kol's hand. "What do you think it is?" Rebekah asked her oldest brother.

"I have no idea, I've never seen anything like it," he answered honestly as he looked over Kol's hand, the twisting and turning causing the youngest male Original to sit up. "Niklaus," Elijah summoned, wanting to know if maybe his other brother had seen this before.

Niklaus walked over, peering over Elijah's shoulder to take a look. "I have no idea," he said and looked to Kol who wasn't doing well at hiding his anxiety about what was going on. "It most likely has something to do with his behaviour yesterday," he said to Elijah who nodded in agreement.

Elijah continued to look over the infected area, asking Rebekah to open the curtains, the morning light flooding through the glass balcony doors allowing him to see it a little better.

Whatever it was, it seemed to take a while to spread. It took a full day to take effect, and a night to cover his hand. Elijah predicted that in no more than a few days-time it would reach his heart. If it were deadly, it will kill him.

"What could do this?" Rebekah asked, standing over Elijah's shoulder.

"Bonnie," Kol tried to tell them but Elijah shook him off.

"No. If this is indeed some sort of magic, it is way beyond her years," Elijah replied and Klaus growled lowly from behind him. "Niklaus?" Elijah questioned.

"I think we may need to wake up Finn," the hybrid said and Rebekah, Elijah and Kol exchanged looks.

It was all beginning to make sense now.

Esther.

Again.

"Can't she just stay gone?" Rebekah gritted out and placed her hands on her hips.

"If Esther truly is behind this, it must have been intended for all of us given the timing," Elijah spoke and Klaus nodded.

"She didn't know that Bonnie unlinked us," the hybrid added. "Whatever is happening to Kol was meant for all of us."

"Which means it's obviously deadly," Rebekah finished and looked over to Kol with a frown and he sent her a small smile, trying to tell her that he'll be fine but both knew otherwise.

Whatever that was, was going to kill him and they all knew it, Kol knew it.

"Whatever she knows I guarantee Finn will too," Klaus said. "I'll go wake him up," he said and walked out of Kol's room and headed for the basement where he placed Finn's coffin.

While they were linked, Klaus had tracked down and captured Finn, taking his blood for the spell and locking him in the basement. As soon as the unlinking spell had been complete, a dagger was back in his heart.

xxx

Rebekah sat down next to Kol, studying his hand and trying to figure out what it was.

"Perhaps it is some kind of curse," she said and looked up to Elijah. "

xxx


	21. A Time For Truth

Rebekah Mikaelson slipped out of the mansion early the next morning without anyone noticing. Klaus was busy trying to get as much information as he could out of Finn (unfortunately, the older Original wasn't giving anything up) while Elijah was monitoring Kol, whose condition was worsening by the hour.

She pulled her car up on the curb outside of her destination and hopped out of the car, walking up to the [front door](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/21/Fool-Me-Once-Fool-Me-Twice) and pressing the doorbell, repeatedly until someone opened the door.

"Rebekah?" Bonnie asked, surprised by the Original's presence. "What are you doing here?"

"He needs your help," she told the witch, getting straight to the point. "Kol," she added with a quick eye roll when she saw a flash of confusion on the other girl's face.

The blonde watched Bonnie's face drop at the mention of Kol. "He's gotten worse," Bonnie said knowingly and Rebekah nodded slowly.

"I don't think I have much time to explain but whatever it is, we think it is magical so-

"You want me to fix it," Bonnie finished for her, arms crossing over her chest.

"Yes," Rebekah said.

"Why should I? He snapped my best friend's neck yesterday and –

"Oh, give it a rest, Bonnie," Rebekah snapped, interrupting the witch. She did not have time for this and neither did Kol. "I know you feel something real for my brother, you'd have to be a fool not to see it." Her voice dropped to a softer tone. "Please, Bonnie. He's my brother, I don't want him to die and I know you don't either."

Bonnie sighed and shifted on her feet before looking [back up](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/21/Fool-Me-Once-Fool-Me-Twice) at Rebekah. "He thinks I did this, he doesn't want me around."

"He knows you didn't, he now knows who truly is behind it," Rebekah replied. "Our mother doesn't give up easy," she added and Bonnie's eyes widened slightly.

"She's trying to kill [you again](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/21/Fool-Me-Once-Fool-Me-Twice)?"

"You honestly thought she wouldn't?" The Original questioned. "My mother is relentless," she muttered. "Anyway, my mother is not the current issue. Will you help or will you not?"

Bonnie knew that whatever spell Esther had casted would be powerful, much more so than she. If she discovered which spell was used, there would be no guarantee that Bonnie would be powerful enough to break it.

But she had to at least try.

"Let me get my grimoire," Bonnie said and quickly ran up to her room to fetch the old book before meeting Rebekah at her car.

"So what exactly is wrong with him?" Bonnie asked when they got [on the road](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7794857/21/Fool-Me-Once-Fool-Me-Twice), Rebekah pushing the speed limit to get back to her brother as quick as possible.

"We honestly do not know. None of us have ever seen anything like it. All we do know is that is it obviously magical and caused by Esther," Rebekah answered.

"I can't promise that I can break whatever spell your mother has placed on him, she is much stronger than I am," Bonnie said.

"Her power is stemming from your line, Bonnie. The power she is using is not her own but yours," the blonde replied and Bonnie looked at her, puzzled by her response, she already knew all this.

"What does that have to do with this?" Bonnie asked.

"It means you are connected. Bennett magic is being used to create this spell so a Bennett should be able to break it," Rebekah explained.

Only a few minutes later Rebekah parked her car in the drive way of the mansion, Bonnie was out of the car, Rebekah following just as quickly.

"He's in his room," the blonde said as they walked towards the stair case. "It started out just on his hand but now it's spread," she added as they reached the door and the vampire pushed it open, allowing Bonnie to walk in first.

Bonnie walked into Kol's bedroom, seeing Elijah sitting over near the glass doors –at first he seemed confused by her presence but that disappeared when Rebekah walked in and shot him a look- and Kol lying on his bed, under the covers. She slowly walked towards him, noticing that his eyes were closed.

"Kol?" Bonnie said gently to get his attention and she sat down on the bed, her hand pushing some of the hair that had stuck to the light sweat on his forehead away.

His eyes opened and a small smile appeared on his face and he sat up in the bed, back against the headboard, hand appearing from under the bed covers and reaching to hers.

Bonnie inhaled sharply as their skin made contact, thankfully it when unnoticed by Kol but not by Rebekah or Elijah who looked at her, confused. This was definitely magical; she could feel it when she touched him. Whatever spell was used; she could tell that it was dark and powerful.

She looked down to his hand and had to repress the gasp that threatened to leave her lips as she saw the dark veins all over his hand and arm, spreading up past his elbow.

"It's not as bad as it looks," he told her as he noticed her expression as she saw his arm.

Bonnie looked up at him with a soft smile. "Of course not," she agreed, enjoying the feeling of their fingers laced together. It was a small thing, but something she found she missed greatly.

Kol looked to Elijah, signalling him to leave the room and to take Rebekah with him. He wanted to be left alone with Bonnie.

"Still blame me?" Bonnie joked half-heartedly after the others had left the room.

Kol cracked a smile. "I've since discovered that Esther is probably the cause of that. Nik is trying to figure it all out now."

"Has he gone to find her?"

Kol shook his head. "Finn is in the basement and he's too close for comfort with mother so we figured he'd know something," he told her. "I'm sorry I snapped at you yesterday."

"I'm not the one you should be apologising to. It wasn't my neck you snapped," she replied a little snippier then intended.

Kol rolled his eyes. She never seemed to understand that she was the only one he cared about. He didn't give a damn about Elena or Caroline. He wasn't sorry for snapping the blonde's neck and he would never be. He'd do it again if he had to; she got on his nerves anyway.

"I got to go talk to Elijah," she told him and began to stand up but Kol held her hand tighter, stopping her.

"Don't leave," he said, sounding more desperate than he had liked.

Bonnie smiled at him before leaning down and placed a kiss to his cheek, lips lingering and her hand brushing against the other. "I'm not leaving, I just need to talk to him."

Bonnie gave him a last smile before walking out of the room, meeting Elijah outside the door.

"It is definitely something caused my magic," she said to the older man after she shut the door behind her. "When I touched him I got a sense of it. I still don't know what it is but whatever it is, it's dark and very powerful. I don't think I'll be able to fix it on my own," she informed him and he nodded. "But you are right, it is Esther. I caught a glimpse of her."

"Your cousin, Lucy, do you think she might know anything?" Rebekah asked from behind Elijah.

Bonnie shrugged. "I don't know, maybe. I can ask her to come here," she said and pulled her phone out of her back pocket and quickly dialling Lucy's number. "She's not picking up," she sighed after her call went to voicemail. "I'll go over there and get her," she said but Elijah stopped her.

"No, I'll go, I think you should stay with Kol," he said to her. "You keep him calm," he told her.

Elijah knew that whatever was happening was scaring Kol but when Bonnie walked in the room the Original sensed his younger brother calm down and that was something he needed to do right now, remain calm.

Bonnie nodded her head, agreeing with Elijah's suggestion. "If she doesn't believe you tell her to ring me," she told him. Odd were Lucy wouldn't.

Elijah left the two girls standing in the hallway. As much as Rebekah wanted to stay with Kol, she knew that he wanted to be alone with Bonnie for a while. "I'm going to go help Nik with Finn," she said and gave Bonnie a small smile before turning on her heel and making her way down the hall.

Bonnie walked back into Kol's room, sitting down beside him on the opposite side of the bed. His head turned to her and his eyes opened, smiling at her he lifted the covers and she climbed under without a single thought.

She lay on her side, curled into him and her hand rested on his chest, her fingers tracing mindless patterns.

"He was right you know," Kol said, breaking their comfortable silence. "Elijah, he was right. You being here does keep me calm," he told her and wrapped an arm around her, keeping her close to him.

"Why?" she couldn't help but ask. "After everything I figured the only things I'd make you feel would be hate and anger."

"I was angry, but I didn't hate you. No matter how hard I tried to," he replied, his fingers brushing through her hair gently.

Bonnie's eyes flickered up to his face just to catch a quick glimpse of him before looking back down, fingers still tracing over the soft and smooth skin of his chest. "I couldn't bring myself to hate you either. Even after what you did to Caroline and Matt."

"In my defence, I was not in the right frame of mind when I attacked Caroline," he defended.

"And what about Matt?" She asked. "What's your excuse for that?"

"He was trying to take you from me," he answered, and Bonnie did not miss the low, barely audible possessive growl that escaped him, causing a shiver to run through her.

"He was just trying to look out for me," Bonnie defended her friend and tried to ignore the feelings that were growing inside of her. "He doesn't want me to get hurt."

"Ironic that it was you that ended up hurting me," he said and Bonnie detected no hint of spite in his voice however the guilt she felt from his words was not able to be hidden so well.

"If I could do it all over, I would have refused to be apart in their plan," she said, eyes closing as she enjoyed the feeling of Kol's fingers running through her hair.

"Would you have ever allowed yourself to get close to me if you had refused them?" he asked her.

"No," she answered simply. "Would you have given up pursuing me?"

"No. I never stop until I get what I want but I guess the Salvatore's made it a little easier for me." He sighed. "I just wish things could have been a little more honest between us." He paused. "Everything you felt while we were together, I want to know."

"I did feel something real for you, if that's what you're asking," she replied.

_I still do._

"From the beginning?" Kol questioned and Bonnie shook her head. "When?"

"The night Esther invited Lucy and I over, that was when the lines started to blur for me and I didn't know if I was lying or not," she answered honestly and felt him tense beneath her.

"We spent quite a lot of time together before that," he said. "Are you saying you hated me the entire time before?" he asked, not sure if he really wanted to answer he may get to that but he needed to know. If he truly was going to die, he wanted to know all of it.

"I don't think I ever hated you, you had never done anything to make me hate you. I hated Klaus and you were his brother so I guess it was by default that I wasn't very fond of you but getting to know you changed that and that scared me. I didn't want to get to know you; I didn't want to like you."

"But you did? Like me." Bonnie didn't miss the hopefulness in his voice when he spoke and it made her smile.

"I did like you but it was the night of the dinner party that everything started to change for me."

"You were stunning that night," he said. The events of that evening -or more specifically one certain event that occurred right here in his bedroom- had replayed on his mind of days after that, longer even.

Bonnie groaned and hid her face in his chest. She knew exactly what he was referring to when he said that. "That was embarrassing, they all heard!"

"At least they weren't around the second time." Kol laughed and Bonnie lightly slapped his chest.

"Why were you really upset that night?" he asked her. "It was me, wasn't it?"

She nodded. "I didn't want to do it anymore," she said, pulling out of Kol's embrace and sitting up.

"But you still did."

"I still did."

"For someone so strong you are so easily manipulated and persuaded," he said and Bonnie frowned. She couldn't tell if he was mocking her or being serious.

"I really did want to save you, but I didn't know how. I didn't even know the details of what Esther really wanted to do." She told him, her hand lacing with his spelled one over his chest, her fingers brushing against the dark lines. "But hopefully I can make up for that now and save you from whatever this is."

Kol shook his head. "Whatever Esther has done it will be too powerful for you to break and I don't want you to put yourself in danger by trying," he told her sincerely and Bonnie smile softly at him.

"I've always kind of been known to push the boundaries of my abilities when the life of someone I love is on the line, just ask Elena," she said and before she realised what she said, Kol's eyes widened and he just stared at her.

"You love me?" he sat up and asked in an uncharacteristically small voice, worried he might have misheard her.

Bonnie paused. She opened her mouth to speak but closed to again, not knowing what to say. She didn't even realise what had just come out of her mouth until he repeated it but now that she did…she knew it was true.

She gave a small smile, bit her lip and nodded. "Yeah, I do," she said and placed a hand on either side of his face when she sat on her knees in front of him. "I love you."

Kol grinned as his hands found her waist and bent his head down to touch her lips with his, gently at first, only brushing against them playfully. "I love you," he said with a smile and pulled her to him so she was sitting on his thighs with her knees on either side on him. "So much," he added before his lips covered hers in a desperate and passionate kiss that left her breathless.

Bonnie could tell that he was putting everything into this kiss, all his emotions, everything she put him through. She could feel the anger and the hurt she caused him and she could feel the love and tenderness he felt for her.

Her fingers laced through his soft hair as her mouth moved eagerly against his, lips parting to let his tongue slide in.

Bonnie sighed into the kiss as their tongues danced and swirled together. Kissing him like this again made her realise just how much she missed it. She missed his kisses, she missed his touches and she missed the way he made her feel, the way everything around them would just disappear, leaving only them and no one else.

He was all around her, all she could taste, smell and feel was Kol.

She felt on of his hands snake around her lower back while the other one held the back of her neck, bracing her as he quickly switched their position so Bonnie was laying on the bed and he hovered over her.

Their lips parted, Bonnie gulping down air as Kol's mouth trailed from her lips, across her jaw and down to her neck. Bonnie let out a breathy moan as his teeth lightly bit down, tugging gently at the flesh before soothing the skin with a swipe of his tongue.

Her fingers gripped onto his hair, guiding his lips back to hers. This kiss was more desperate than the last; she gripped his hair tightly and pressed herself fully into his body, her gasp when she felt his hardness brushing against her thigh being swallowed by the kiss.

"Whoa, this is not what I wanted to see so early in the morning!" Bonnie heard her cousin's voice sound from the doorway, Elijah by her side.

"Lucy!" Bonnie squeaked, surprised that her cousin arrived so fast, even without calling Bonnie first to make sure she wasn't walking into a trap.

Kol rolled off Bonnie, unimpressed by the interrupted caused by Bonnie's cousin and his brother.

"At least you got your clothes on," Lucy muttered before walking over and less than gently taking Kol's arm to look at it.

"It's a curse," she said a few seconds later, dropping his arm. "I've only seen it once before," she turned to Elijah. "The curse takes a day to take effect, but the spreading depends."

"On what?" Elijah questioned, stepping forward.

"Age, strength. The vampire I saw it effect was only around four hundred years old, it took a day and a half to reach his heart and when it does it kills them," she told the elder Original. She looked back to Kol. "Two days at the most and you'll be dead," she said without as much as a hint of concern or sadness. If anything she sounded pleased about it.

"And what of a cure?" Elijah asked.

"I don't know. I wasn't going to go out of my way to save a vampire and there may not even be one. It's usually a witches last resort when it comes to killing a vampire or when they want to inflict a large amount of pain on them."

While Lucy and Elijah continued to converse Bonnie felt Kol gripped her hand tighter, looking at him she realised he wasn't doing it intentionally. He was frightened, she could tell even if he tried to hide it. She squeezed his hand back.

She was not going to let him die, not again.

"We need to find Esther," Elijah said.

"I know where she is," Lucy replied, almost reluctantly and all eyes turned to her. "She trusts me, we have a common goal on getting rid of all of you, she told me she was planning something else but I didn't think it would be so soon and she did not tell me what but I know where she is and I'll make her reverse it."

"Why would we trust you with that? You said it yourself; you share a common goal with our mother?" Rebekah sneered as she walked into the room.

"I will not be doing it for you," Lucy sneered back. "For some strange reason I cannot understand, Bonnie cares for him and I care for her. I'm doing this for her," she said, turning to Bonnie who smiled to her cousin gratefully.

"I'll stay here; see if I can find anything about it in my grimoire. Rebekah said that she's using our magic so maybe there is something in there about it," Bonnie said.

"Rebekah and I will help you; we have a large number of grimoire's in our possession," Elijah spoke. "Rebekah, show Bonnie to the library," he said and Rebekah nodded, motioning Bonnie to follow her.

Bonnie turned to Kol, her hand brushing his cheek. "I'm not going to let you die," she whispered before pressing her lips to his in a sweet kiss. "I love you," she added then got up off the bed to follow Rebekah out of the room, leaving Kol with Elijah and Lucy.


	22. The Curse

Klaus twisted the knife deeper into Finn's shoulder, listening to his older brother cry out in pain.

Finn had woken up only an hour ago and Klaus thought himself kind enough to try and talk his brother into giving up the information he required but Finn refused. Half an hour later, Klaus decided to turn physical.

"What has Esther done to Kol?" Klaus asked for the third time and pulled the knife out of Finn's shoulder – the older Original nearly sighing in relief.

"I have already told you, Niklaus, torture me all you want I will never tell you," Finn resisted, his head leaning back to rest against the cold stone wall behind him.

Klaus growled at his brother before plunging the knife into his stomach, blood gushing out from the wound, down the handle of the knife and washing over Klaus' hand.

"As you have already probably gathered, only Kol is affected by whatever magic Esther has done. He is the only one dying," Klaus continued and pulled the knife out. "Tell me what I want to know and maybe I won't put you back in that coffin for another nine hundred years."

"Put me in there for nine thousand years, I will still never tell you what you want," Finn retorted, a slight smile playing on his lips.

Both of them knew that nothing Klaus could do would make Finn give up the information they needed but Klaus had to try.

The smile on Finn's lips disappeared quickly when Klaus dropped the knife to the ground and impaled his hand in Finn's chest, hand gripping tightly around his brother's heart.

This would not kill Finn, but it would cause him immense pain and that's all Klaus wanted right now.

xxx

Lucy Bennett strode into Esther Mikaelson's safe house located only a few miles outside of Mystic Falls. She called out to the older witch as she headed to the room she knew Esther would be in.

"I thought we agreed that we wouldn't try again so soon," Lucy said as soon as she came face to face with Esther. "I thought we were going to wait."

"The spirits are pushing. The longer this takes the angrier they are getting," Esther replied. "I had to finish this and I had to do it soon. A few more hours and the vampire race with cease to exist."

"Well that is where you are wrong. Only Kol's bloodline will die," Lucy told her and placed her hands on her hips. "Bonnie unlinked them the other night – just before the curse was activated so congratulations you have another failed plan and another one that puts my cousin smack dab in the middle."

"Bonnie will always be in the middle, we all will be. It's our duty," Esther said to her and Lucy just rolled her eyes.

"I don't give a damn about a witch's duty – I never have. I only give a damn about my cousin so you are going to tell me how to fix Kol or the spirits are going to be the least of your worries," the elder Bennett witch threatened and stared down Esther.

Esther only smiled and placed a hand on Lucy's arm. "You know I have a deep respect for you, Lucy, but I cannot allow you to let Bonnie stop this," she said and her grip around the Bennett's arm tightened.

"What are you doing?" Lucy questioned the older witch in a panic as she began to feel a strange sensation running through her arm. The feeling quickly spread to all over her body.

"It was not supposed to be this way," she spoke as Lucy tried to pull her arm out of Esther's grip. "You were supposed to be on my side - both of you were."

Esther finally let go when Lucy fell to the ground.

"A few more hours and he will be dead," Esther said as she stepped over Lucy's unconscious form and left the room.

xxx

Bonnie let out a heavy sigh as she pushed aside the third grimoire she had read this morning and reached for the fourth.

So far no such luck for her or for Rebekah. They both knew that whatever they were searching for could not be found in any of the grimoires they were searching through; the only one with the answer would be Esther. But they couldn't just sit back and do nothing until they heard back from Lucy – even then there would be no guarantee that her cousin would provide her with good news.

Bonnie seemed to be checking her phone every five minutes to see if Lucy called or texted but no such luck as of yet.

Klaus was still trying to get Finn to talk but he wasn't giving any information up – even after Klaus resorted to force. Bonnie was surprised by Finn's will power. If Klaus was doing to her what he was doing to Finn, she would have given up by now.

Bonnie wondered how Rebekah was handling it - hearing her brother's screams echo throughout the house every now and then. She could see the Original flinch every now and then out of the corner of her eye but that was it. Bonnie wanted to ask her about it but decided against it. She and Rebekah weren't exactly friends anymore and both would rather focus on Kol rather than Finn.

"Are you finding anything?" Rebekah asked her suddenly as she threw aside another book.

Bonnie shook her head and turned another page. "There's plenty about curses and hexes but none of them like this one," she sighed.

"Have you heard anything from your cousin yet?"

"Nothing yet," she answered and Rebekah let out a frustrated sigh as she reached for another book from the large pile on the table. "I don't think whatever we're looking for will be in any of these," Bonnie said doubtfully as she eyed the seemingly never ending mountain of books on the table and scattered across various other surfaces all over the large room. "And I doubt Esther will give us what we want," she muttered bitterly and thought about how much she wished she could get her hands on the Original witch.

Bonnie was by no means a violent person but she never took lightly to someone harming those she cared for.

"Probably not but from the sounds coming from the basement, Finn might," Rebekah responded and just as she finished another scream echoed through the mansion, this time the blonde was unable to hide her flinch.

Bonnie frowned and reached over the table, her hand resting atop of Rebekah's clenched fist.

"Finn and I were never particularly close, but he's still my brother and I hate hearing him in pain. I hate that Nik is the one causing his pain and I hate that Finn is part of the reason Kol might die," Rebekah admitted to Bonnie in a soft and small tone, one that reminded Bonnie that the female Original was still just a teenage girl at heart. "My family is such a mess," she added, trying to make light of the current situation.

Bonnie gave her a small smile. "But you have each other."

Rebekah looked up and after a moment she nodded her head once and a small smile graced her face. "That's true."

Just as Bonnie was about to pull her hand away, Rebekah gave it a gentle squeeze – getting the witch's attention. "I'm glad you're here," she said and Bonnie's smile brightened.

"There's nowhere else I could even think about being," she replied. "Except maybe a secluded island with no mention of the supernatural," she joked and Bekah giggled.

"We do own an island," the blonde told her and Bonnie's eyes widened.

"What!?" the witch exclaimed with shock.

Rebekah nodded her head. "We found it back in the 1700s and never told anyone about it," she told her. "It is literally in the middle of nowhere."

"That's so cool," Bonnie said in awe. "Do you still go there?"

"I haven't been there since 1899 but I'm sure Elijah and Nik modernised it since then," she said. "Nik makes a point to go there every year."

When another of Finn's screams echoed through the mansion both girls jumped at the sudden sound. Bonnie frowned as Bekah let out a sad sigh as she turned back to the grimoire she was searching through – Bonnie soon following her lead.

Another two hour had passed and Bonnie closed what seemed like the tenth grimoire and pushed it aside with a heavy sigh. She could bear to look at these old books much longer – it was no use, none of them held the information that they needed.

"Do you mind if I go check on him?" Bonnie asked Rebekah, motioning to the upstairs where Kol was.

"Of course not," she replied. "Go."

Bonnie gave her friend a quick smile as she pushed her chair back and left the library and headed for the stairs.

Bonnie walked into Kol's room but didn't see him on his bed or anywhere in his room. "Kol?" she called out but received no answer.

She saw the bathroom door ajar, some light shining through into the darkness of his bedroom. "Kol?" she called out again – this time much softer when she slowly pushed the door open and saw him leaning in front of the sink. Hands gripping the counter top so tightly that she could see a crack in the marble surface.

When she got closer to him she could see that his eyes were shut and he was breathing so heavily that he was shaking. She lifted her hand and gently placed it on his shoulder – she didn't have any time to react when Kol's eyes snapped open and had her pinned to the wall by her throat in a matter of seconds – his eyes red and fangs bared. But it was gone as soon as it came. He relaxed immediately when he realised it was only her.

"Bonnie," he said with a relieved sigh, eyes closing as he rested his head in the crook of her neck and pulled her away from the wall and wrapping his arms around her. "I'm sorry," he murmured against her neck.

"What just happened?" she asked him – her hands soothingly running up and down his back.

"I feel like I'm going insane," he told her, holding her tighter. "I'm seeing things that aren't there, I'm having strange dreams," he said and Bonnie's brow furrowed in concern.

"Like what?" she asked and pulled away to lead him back to his bed.

"I dreamt that Esther killed you," he said and the grip on her hand tightened as he recalled the dream of his mother stopping Bonnie's heart in front of him. "I don't want to lose you. Not again and not to her," he whispered.

Bonnie frowned and placed her other hand over their laced ones. "You're not going to lose me," she promised him. "And I'm not going to lose you. Not to Esther, not to anyone," she added, her voice filled with determination.

Kol mustered a smile and turned to face her, bringing his forehead down to rest against hers. "I'm going to hold you to that."

Bonnie gave a small laugh, he hands untwining from him and moved up to his neck. "Stay with me?" he asked just as their lips brushed.

"I will," she told him and he pulled her closer to him, adding more pressure to their kiss. Bonnie let out a small moan when Kol pulled her onto his lap, his hands lightly gripping onto her hips.

Kol dragged his lips from hers and began to trail them down her throat and across her collar bone. Bonnie tiled her head back to give him more access but he paused suddenly when his lips reached her neck.

"Kol, are you okay?" she asked him.

He very gently pushed her off his lap and stood up from the bed. "I'm sorry, I don't have the control I usually do," he told her as he tried to calm himself.

"It's fine," she said and sat up straight.

It only took a few minutes for Kol get his thirst under control and he went to sit back down next to her but she made him lay down instead – crawling in next to him when he got himself comfortable.

"Things aren't working out too well, are they?" he asked her after a period of silence.

"I wouldn't say that. I mean, the grimoire search is a bust but Klaus is working on Finn and I'm sure Lucy will get something from Esther," she said to him and ran her fingers lightly over here chest. "You're going to be fine," she promised him and turned her head slightly to lay a kiss to his chest.

They talked some more, Bonnie trying anything she could to keep Kol's mind of what was going on and it worked but when the curse's effects soon proved to be too much for him and he eventually fell asleep which was a good thing in Bonnie's mind. As long as he was asleep he didn't have to worry.

And soon enough Bonnie fell asleep to.

When they awoke, she had no idea how long they stayed like that. Could have been hours, could have been minuets. The clock however confirmed that it had been hours. She felt terrible for leaving everyone downstairs to do all the work but Kol assured her that if they needed her they would have come gotten her.

And he was right as a few moments later, Elijah knocked on the door before entering his brother's room.

"Elijah," Kol weakly greeted his brother.

Elijah gave him brother a small smile before turning his attention to Bonnie. "Can I speak with you for a moment?" he asked and Bonnie nodded.

"I'll be back," she said when she turned back to Kol, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek before following Elijah out of the room. She could tell that the look on his face and the way he held himself that something had happened.

"What's going on?" she finally asked Elijah as they walked down the stairs, putting some distance between themselves and Kol.

"I decided to take over the interrogation of our brother from Klaus and was able to get Finn to open up about what is happening to Kol," he told her and Bonnie's eyes widened.

"How did you manage that?" Bonnie questioned.

"Klaus' physical torture was not doing anything; Finn has a surprising tolerance for pain so I decided to remind Finn of the brother that was dying - the one that he helped raise." Elijah answered. "When we were human, Kol and Finn were quite close. Their bond may no longer exist to Kol but it does to Finn and after I reminded him of that he revealed what it was that Esther did and a reversal."

"What is it?" she asked curiously and desperately.

Elijah paused for a moment – trying to place the information in simpler and quicker terms.

"Elijah," she pushed impatiently. "Just tell me."

"We were right, it is a curse. It is purpose is to make the targeted vampire suffer like they made their victims. The older the vampire and the more viscous – the more painful the curse," he informed her. "The blackness of his veins represents his victims from the other side, each putting a bit of their spirit inside of Kol. That's why the older they are the longer it takes," he explained to her.

"Older means more victims," she muttered and Elijah nodded. "He said that he's seeing things, he didn't say what though," she told him.

"Another punishment– to see your victims," he told her and Bonnie frowned.

"The dreams are probably sent by Esther herself," Bonnie said to herself.

"If they include her and you then most likely, yes," he nodded.

Bonnie inhaled deeply to calm her raising anxiousness. "The cure?"

"Now, Miss Bennett, I need for you to understand that I have come straight to you with this – Rebekah and Klaus do not yet know – because this is a decision that you need to make," he began and Bonnie's brow furrowed in confusion. "As you are aware of, my mother and her powers are linked to the Bennett line, this curse is stemming from Bennett magic," he paused for a moment before continuing. "It is said that the blood of a witch from the line it was casts from is the only way to reverse it."

Elijah's words repeating in her mind until she was finally able to put the pieces together. "Bennett blood – my blood."

"That is why I have come to you first, it not only affects my brother but yourself as well," he said to her.

"When you say blood of the witch you don't mean just a few drops, don't you?" she asked and the Original gave a solemn head shake. "For Kol to live, I have to die…" she trailed off.

Elijah gave a chuckle which broke Bonnie out of her thoughts. "No need for the dramatics. It will require more than a few drops but he will not have to drain you to the point of death."

"So what? To the point of near death?" she questioned and Elijah nodded his head.

Bonnie knew that Kol had excellent control over blood, but in his current state she knew that he'd have the control of ripper Stefan which made her sick to her stomach.

"I know what you are thinking, Bonnie and if you should choose to go through with this, I will personally see to it that you come out of it alive," he promised and stepped closer to her, placing his hands on her shoulders in a comforting manner.

Bonnie looked up at the eldest Original with a strange look. "Why would you do that?" she asked him.

"Because I don't want Kol trying to seek vengeance out on me for the next century because I let his love die," he answered, trying to lighten the mood between them.

Bonnie gave a tiny smile at his joke before taking in a deep breath, trying to ready herself for what she was about to do.

xxx

"No. Absolutely not," Kol refused as soon as Bonnie told him what Finn had said. "I'm not going to drain you just so I can live."

Bonnie and Elijah had returned to Kol's room soon after their private conversation and so far Kol was not taking a liking to their news. Part of Bonnie warmed at the fact that Kol refused - he didn't want to risk hurting her. But unfortunately for him, he didn't have a say in any of this.

"But you don't have to take all of it, just enough," she tried to tell him. "And Elijah will pull you away," she said and Kol looked over Bonnie's shoulder to Elijah who nodded his head confirming that he will. "I'll be fine and so will you," she placed a hand on Kol's cheek.

Kol was silent for a moment before shaking his head. "I can't risk it," he told her and his hand came up to cover hers on his face.

Bonnie gave him a small but loving smile as she leaned in and pressed her lips gently against his. "I told you that I wasn't going to lose you," she reminded him when she pulled away, feeling how he tensed when she sliced her hand with the knife that Elijah had handed to her out in the hallway.

"Don't," he whispered when she lifted her bleeding hand up to his face and as much as he tried he couldn't ignore the scent of her blood. Closing his eyes he inhaled deeply, breathing in the divine taste.

Bonnie tried as hard as she could to maintain a cool and calm composure but she could feel it slipping when the veins began to appear around his eyes. Her flinch was impossible to hide when he tightly grasped her wrist, bringing her hand to his mouth.

She shot a look to Elijah –who was standing ready and alert- just as Kol traced the tip of his tongue against the length of the cut. A second later his fangs had bit down into her hand causing a pained gasp to escape the witch's lips.

There was a sigh of relief when he pulled back but it didn't last long before he pulled her down to him, on arm wrapping around her to keep her to him as his fangs roughly pierced her neck.

This was not like the first time Kol drank from her. This wasn't pleasurable, it was painful. Her nails dug into his shoulder blades and squeezed her eyes shut as she tried to block out the pain

She bit her lip in an attempt to hold in her pained cries and her nails dug deeper in his skin as he took big gulps of her blood.

Kol's demonic-like vampiric face and his mouth covered in her own blood was the last thing Bonnie saw before she drifted off into blackness.

xxx

Elijah had to restrain Kol from attacking Bonnie's unconscious form. She wasn't dead, he could hear the very faint beat of her heart but if he did not get his brother under control she would be.

Kol had managed to push Elijah to the ground but before he could get to Bonnie, Elijah was back on his feet and grabbed a hold of Kol before throwing him forcefully against the wall, the impact splitting the wall.

"What the hell is going on?" Klaus shouted in disbelief when he and Rebekah sped into the room after hearing all the commotion.

"Oh, God," Rebekah gasped as she saw Kol's bloody face and Bonnie half dead on the bed, blood still dripping from her neck wound.

"Klaus, take Bonnie somewhere else," Elijah spoke to his younger brother but never taking his eyes off Kol who seemed to be slowly regaining control.

Klaus nodded and walked over to the bed, gently lifting Bonnie up in his arms. He felt pity run through him as he held her small, limp body to his chest. Since he met her, her life had just been one big sacrifice, one after the other. Seems she couldn't go a month without wanting to sacrifice herself for someone.

"No," Kol growled but not out of a blood crazed frenzy that his meal was being taken away from him but rather because Bonnie was being taken away from him. It took him a second to get to his feet but Elijah was there to block his way. "Don't take her from me," he pathetically pleaded to his older brother.

"She's safe, just let her heal," his brother said in a comforting and soothing tone. "She will be fine."

"You're looking better already," Rebekah commented as her eyes ran over his now clear arm and shoulder and in another second she had launched herself at her brother, arms wrapped tightly around him.

Kol was shocked and taken back for a moment at his sister's sudden outburst but soon wrapped his arms around her, resting his head atop of hers.

"I'm so glad you are okay," she choked back a sob. "You being daggered in a coffin is one thing but I couldn't handle you being gone for good."

"It's alright, Bekah," he soothed and kissed the top of his sister's head.

xxx

"Where is she?" Lucy Bennett demanded as she barged into the Mikaelson mansion. Elijah had sent her a text message informing her of what was going on and what Bonnie did and she was livid.

Elijah was in the foyer within seconds and Lucy's eyes narrowed dangerously at the Original. "You fed her to your brother," she seethed and took a step towards the man.

"It was her decision," he told her truthfully. "I told her what needed to be done and told her that it was up to her. She chose to help him," Elijah finished though his explanation did not make the raging witch calm down.

Lucy gave a dry, humourless laugh. "Today has just been a great day. First your bitch of a mother knocks me the fuck out for the second time may I remind you and now your dick of a brother nearly kills my cousin."

"My brother did not want to feed from her, we made him," Elijah defended his brother.

"We?" Lucy gritted and turned her full attention to the Original standing before her. "You forced him to  **feed**  from  **my**  cousin," her voice rising with each step she took.

"Bonnie is fine. She's healing well," he told her to try and calm her down. "If you wish to see her for yourself she is in Rebekah's room."

"She better be fine because if not I will personally see to it that your family is destroyed," she warned before pushing past the Original and heading up the stairs, desperate to make sure that he cousin was okay.

"Well she's certainly a pleasant one," Klaus commented when he appeared after Lucy had left.

"She's quite terrifying," Elijah admitted and his brother chuckled.

"All Bennett witches can be, especially Shelia," Klaus replied and it was Elijah's turn to let out a snicker.

"She gave you a run for your money and if I remember correctly it was you that followed her around like a lost puppy in the 80s," Elijah smirked.

"What can I say? She was a beauty," Klaus replied as the brothers made their way into the study for a drink.

xxx

Lucy made it to Rebekah's room with speed that could rival a vampire's and she could not help but let out a sad sigh when she saw her cousin lying out on the bed. She looked pale and sickly, her chest moving up and down so slowly that on first sight she looked to be dead.

"Would you like me to leave you alone with her?" Lucy heard Rebekah's voice from the other side of the room.

The witch looked over to see the blonde vampire sitting on a plush couch, magazine on her lap. "Please," Lucy replied and Rebekah nodded before standing.

She gave Bonnie one last look before leaving the two Bennett's alone in her room.

Lucy sat down on the edge of the bed, moving some stray hair from Bonnie's face. "This is why I never wanted you to get involved with a vampire," she said softly as she took her cousins hand. "They will only bring you pain and death."

xxx

It was a few hours later when Bonnie started to regain consciousness and when she woke she had both Lucy and Rebekah at her side.

Rebekah helped her sit up while Lucy reached for the glass of water on the nightstand, handing it to Bonnie who gratefully took and downed the contents in mere seconds.

"How long was I out for?" she asked them – her voice horse.

"A few hours," Rebekah answered. "We weren't sure if giving you blood would be a good idea but Elijah had a doctor come look over you and said you were fine. Plus you're a witch so it wasn't as serious as it would be to a human," she finished explaining. "Witches actually heal quicker than humans though not many know that," she added when she saw the look that crossed Bonnie's face.

"Is Kol..?" she trailed off.

"Don't worry about him," Lucy dismissed but Rebekah answered her anyway.

"He's fine," Rebekah said. "He's worried about you though."

"I should go see him," she said and began to get up off the bed but was stopped by both Lucy and Rebekah.

"No, you still need to recover," Lucy said. "I called Caroline and had her bring over some stuff for you so we'll get you cleaned up and feeling better," she finished with a smile.

"Caroline was here?"

"She was. Klaus made her leave before Kol ripped her head off," she answered with a laugh but stopped when she saw Bonnie's face. "She came here and gave him and earful and as I'm sure you know, Kol doesn't like to be reminded of mistakes that he's made. Combine that with his hatred for Caroline and well, you have that," she explained to Bonnie.

"She'll want to see you though as soon as you're feeling better," Lucy added.

"That will be interesting…and scary," Bonnie mused as Lucy helped her get off the bed and stand up.

Caroline would probably end up ripping her head off for risking her life for an Original.

"If you want to take a shower all your stuff is in my bathroom,' Rebekah smiled at her and also got off the bed. "You'll feel better after you take one."

"I think I might just do that," Bonnie replied and smiled her thanks to the blonde Original.

"Oh, and Bonnie?" Rebekah called out just as Bonnie reach the bathroom. She walked over to Bonnie and pulled her into a hug. "Thank you for saving my brother," she said and held on for a few more seconds before pulling away.

"How could I not?" Bonnie replied with a grin before Rebekah let her continue her way to the bathroom.

"My brother's and I are going to leave for a few hours, I suggest you do the same," Rebekah said to Lucy as soon as she heard the shower running, "leave Bonnie and Kol alone for a while."

"That's not going to happen," Lucy scoffed.

"I understand that you hate us and especially Kol but if you want Kol to do as you asked, its better he do it when no one else is around," she tried to convince her.

"You all heard that?" she didn't really care if they heard or not, it was just a general question.

"What do you think?" Rebekah retorted.

"Fine," Lucy gave in. "But if I don't hear from her within two hours I'll be back here."

"Deal," Rebekah nodded and she and Lucy began to make their way out of her bedroom and down the hall.

Lucy was not at all happy about leaving Bonnie alone with Kol but Rebekah did have a point and if Kol really did care enough about Bonnie to take what she said to him into consideration, then it was better that he do it when it was only them.

When they got outside they parted ways - Rebekah heading over towards her brother's and their car and Lucy heading to hers, the witch not giving the Original family a single word or glance.

The only thing she could think about was what she did.

 _It was all for the best_ , Lucy kept trying to tell herself as she got into her car.

xxx

Bonnie was beginning the feel better after the shower and when she finished getting dressed in the clothes Caroline had brought over, she went back out into Rebekah's room only to find that neither Rebekah nor Lucy was there but rather a folded piece of paper that lay on the bed.

Picking it up, she read;

_We all thought you and Kol could use some privacy. I'm sure you two have a lot to discuss._

_xxx Bekah_

Bonnie placed the note on the bedside table with a sigh and sat down on the bed. She wanted to go to him, but there was something stopping her. Rebekah was right, there was a lot she and Kol had to talk through but Bonnie didn't want to talk about any of it.

She knew she was just dreaming, but she wished that they could just forget about all of it and move on like nothing happened. But she knew that was highly unlikely.

She would have to deal with it sooner or later.

"I just need a minute, Kol," Bonnie said aloud, sure that he could hear her.

She couldn't help but let out a giggle when her phone vibrated from the table, signalling a message from Kol.

_Take however long you need. I'll still be here._

It must have been half an hour before Bonnie finally talked herself up enough courage to go to Kol. "Hey," Bonnie greeted softly as she walked into his room.

Kol turned around at the sound of her voice and smiled at her, "hey," he said back and made his way over to her, his arms immediately wrapping around her. "I'm so glad you are okay," he said into her hair.

"I'm glad you're okay," she countered and held him tighter. "You had me terrified," she murmured into his neck.

She lifted her head from his neck and just as she was about to kiss him, he pulled back - turning away from her.

"Kol," Bonnie whispered his name soothingly and placed a hand on his bicep to stop him turning away from her again. "Don't do this. Not now. Not after everything."

"How can you stand there after I nearly killed you?" he asked when he turned to look her in the eye.

"Well; I nearly killed you so I guess that kind of makes us even," Bonnie answered with a soft laugh, trying to make a joke to lighten the mood but when she saw it wasn't working she turned back to being serious. "But you didn't. You stopped."

"I got pulled away," he corrected her and looked away. "If it weren't for Elijah then I would have killed you."

"But he did and you didn't," she replied. "Why are you focusing on what could have happened instead of what did happen. You're alive and I'm alive. That's all that matters," she said, placing her hands on his cheeks.

Kol looked down at her and Bonnie gave a small smile when their eyes met. She stood up on her toes and pressed a sweet kiss to his lips.

"We can't do this," he whispered and pulled himself away from Bonnie who refused to let him go too far.

"Yes, we can," she replied and closed the distance between them – her body pressed against his. "Do you love me?" she asked as her lips pressed against his neck in a series of small kisses, slowly working her way up over his jaw before finally landing on his lips.

"You know I do," he answered softly, kissing her back.

It was Bonnie who pulled away this time, but she kept him close to her.

"I know that what I did to you was horrible and I can't tell you how sorry I am for that but I love you, Kol and I want to be with you so much. You make me feels things that I never thought possible and –"

Her speech was cut short by Kol's lips crashing down on hers in a heated kiss that left her knees weak and her stomach in knots but it left Kol with nothing but guilt.

xxx

" _You're looking better," a voice commented from behind him. "Certainly looking better than my cousin," she added, her tone dripping with malice._

_Kol didn't reply to the elder Bennett. He already felt an overwhelming amount of guilt of what he did to her. He should never have lost control like that. He should never have hurt her._

" _You need to stay away from her," she said and walked further into his room. "Esther is not going to rest until you and the rest of your siblings are dead and as long as you're with Bonnie you're putting her in danger."_

" _I can protect her from Esther," he replied with conviction. If his mother even thought about laying a hand on Bonnie to get to him he'd send her back to the other side before she could even decide how._

" _Can you?" Lucy questioned. "Because from where I stand it seems that you can't even protect Bonnie from yourself. You're here and she's lying half dead in another room."_

_Kol stayed silent – eyes glued to the ground as Lucy continued._

" _If you love her like you say you do then you need to leave and never come back and let her live her life. Key word here – live." Kol's eyes snapped back up to the older Bennett witch. "What kind of future do you think you'll have with her? You'll live forever, she won't and there is no way that she would give up being a witch for being a vampire." Lucy took another step closer to Kol, her voice losing its malice and anger – leaving only her concern for her cousin._

_If he were honest, he'd never given his and Bonnie's future another thought but now that it had crossed his mind, it didn't seem to want to leave. Lucy was right, Bonnie would never willingly be turned into a vampire and eventually she'll want all the things he would never be able to provide for her._

_A frown crossed Lucy's face as she watched Kol. She was not the biggest fan of the Original or of his relationship with her cousin but she didn't like having to do this - having to get between them, having to convince Kol that it's better to leave Bonnie than to stay with her. But it needed to be done. She only had Bonnie's best interest in heart and this was it._

" _Do you see what I'm getting at?" Lucy questioned and after a moment Kol nodded his head. "I don't want to do this but you and I have one thing in common and that is we both care about Bonnie and want the best for her and we both know that that's not you."_

_Lucy gave him one last glance before she turned on her heel and strode out of his room, leaving him alone to ponder what she had said and pray that he made the right choice._

xxx

Kol wanted to tell her to go back to her home and rest, tell her that he'd be there in the morning when she woke up and that would be his perfect moment to leave and put distance between them before she knew what he was doing but when she came into his room, pressing her lips to whichever part of his body she could reach and telling him she loved him – he couldn't.

It was selfish of him, he knew that but if he was never going to see her again, then he wanted her to have the ultimate reminder of him, and him of her.

Her first.

xxx

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MERRY CHRISTMAS MY LOVELY READERS WHO I LOVE AND ADORE SO MUCH WHO PROBABLY HATE ME BECAUSE I AM A TERRIBLE UPDATER
> 
> :)
> 
> A big apology for the wait. I have been rather busy lately (my life has been a shit fight lately. Between feeling ill and traveling back and forth between states I just haven't had time to do anything) and when I did find time to write I just didn't have the motivation but hopefully things begin to calm down now and I can back to it because I've really missed it!
> 
> Yes I do realise they could have just given her blood but for the sake of the story I decided against it :) and please don't hate Lucy :( she's just protective and worried.
> 
> Now, I've decided to split this chapter, so if you do not like smut then please don't read the first part of the next chapter! And don't worry, you haven't seen the last of Kennett or Kol – he has another plan up his sleeve! And yes this was the horrible thing that I had planned.
> 
> Once again, sorry for the wait and thank you for all your reviews and for all the follows! I went passed 200 followers for this fic and I totally fangirled when I found out! You're all awesome!
> 
> Any mistakes you find in this chapter are all mine (and sorry for them half this chapter has been written for weeks, the other half has only recently been started) and pretty please drop a review and tell me what you think!
> 
> (and yes, in this fic Klaus had a massive crush on Shelia [Grams] when she was younger! That would make an interesting one shot!)
> 
> AND OMG GUYS KENNETT IN 4X10! Hehe sorry!


	23. Heartbreak

Kol spun around to face Bonnie, lifting her up into his arms moments later. Their lips crashed together as Bonnie’s legs wrapped around his waist – her hands in his hair, tugging and pulling.

“Are you sure about this?” he asked her with a serious expression when he managed to pry his lips from hers long enough to speak. Part of him hoped she would say no, but the rest of him pleaded that she say yes.

“I am,” she whispered and pulled his mouth back to hers. This had honestly not been her intention when she first came to his room, but the moment just seemed right to her.

Kol knelt on the bed and gently laid Bonnie down, her head resting on the soft pillows while his knees were either side of her hips, hovering over her.

Kol’s mouth left hers – giving her time to breathe – and began to plant kisses along her jaw, leading to up the back of her ear before trailing kisses down her neck. Bonnie’s hands slid down Kol’s sides, her hands slipping under the fabric of his shirt and let her hands explore the smooth skin of his abdomen. She let out a soft moan when he nipped at her neck.

“Shirt off?” he asked her as he smirked against her neck.

“Uh huh,” she grinned and began to gather his shirt up his torso.

Kol pulled apart from her and sat up to remove his shirt, a surprised gasp escaping his lips at feeling Bonnie’s mouth against the bare flesh of his torso. Kol threw the shirt behind him, his fingers thread through her hair as she trailed kisses upwards towards his chest, all the while her hands slowly running up and down his sides.

Kol soon removed Bonnie’s shirt and gently pushed her back down to the bed. His eyes met hers and he smirked as he hands went to the button of her jeans. He undid the button and slowly slid the zipper down before slipping his fingers into the belt loops of her pants and began to roll them down her legs at torturously slow pace.

Once her jeans were removed he tossed them to the side, his eyes never leaving the half-naked beauty laid out before him. He was on his knees at the foot of the bed, his hands hooking the underside of her knees before pulling her to him stopping when her legs hung off the bed.

Smiling up at her, he placed one of her legs over his shoulder, eyes never leaving hers as he began to place kisses to her inner thigh, smirking at her sharp intake of breath. His other hand rubbed the outside of her other thigh while he kept kissing and nipping his way up.

Bonnie moaned as his kisses grew bolder and neared where she wanted him most. Bonnie threw her head back against the pillows with a sigh, his name flowing from her lips when she felt him place kisses over her panty-covered slit.

His fingers soon hooked in the edges of her underwear and quickly slid them down her legs, eager to get to the prize hiding beneath the green fabric. He groaned when he was hit with the delectable scent of her arousal.

Kol made sure her eyes were on him when he brought his head back down. The gasp she let out when he slid his tongue up her slit was like music to his ears. So he did it again, and again. He was taking it slow, he was in no rush.

One of her hands grasped onto his hair while the other fisted in his sheets. Her head was thrown back and her eyes closed. He was barely doing anything and she was already falling apart.

Bonnie’s eyes shot open and her hips bucked when she felt him insert a finger into her, then another while his tongue continued its assault on her clit.

“Oh, Kol,” she breathed his name like a prayer as she began to ground her hips down onto his fingers and face.

“God I’ve missed you so much,” she heard (and felt) him whisper against her.

Bonnie smiled at his words, her mouth parting in a silent moan as his fingers moved faster.

Kol made sure to watch her, he had no plans for her to cum yet and he saw that she was nearing; he removed his fingers and tongue from her, smiling when she glared up at him.

“Patience darling,” he winked. “All in good time.”

Kol stood up at the foot of the bed and Bonnie sat up, her face level with his chest. She smiled up at him and he ran his hands through her hair before trailing down her back and towards the clasp of her bra. He easily unclasped it and removed the material from her body to reveal her breasts to him.

“You are so stunning,” he whispered as his eyes caressed her body. Bonnie sighed when his hands covered her breasts, giving them a single, firm but gentle squeeze.

His hands went to his pants, taking his time in removing his belt and unbuttoning his jeans, he made sure she watched the entire time he removed his pants. He looked at her with a smirk before pushing her back down on the bed.

Kol slid back up her body, his lower half resting between her legs and both of them let out a moan when his length brushed against her core. That was a completely new sensation for the both of them and both wanted more.

Kol lined himself up at her entrance and looked in her eyes. “This will hurt at first but I promise you that I will make you feel real good, okay?” Bonnie nodded and took a deep breath to calm herself before she closed her eyes. “No, don’t close your eyes, beautiful,” he said. “Just look at me. I’ve got you,” he whispered and gave her a breath taking smile before pushing inside of her with one quick thrust.

Bonnie whimpered at the foreign feeling while Kol let out a loud, pleasure filled moan but didn’t move at all, allowing her time to adjust to him. He placed kisses all over her face and whispered soothing words to her while he waited for her to get used to him being inside her.

He, however, didn’t need time. In fact, it was rather difficult for him to remain still. She felt so perfect wrapped around him, so warm and tight. He loved it.

Kol had to hold back his relieved sigh when she began to tentatively move against him. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could go without moving. “Ready, beautiful?” he asked and gave an experimental movement of his hips against hers, loving the sound it evoked from her.

He took it slow at first, pulling out and pushing back in, eyes never leaving her face as he watched the look of pain become replaced by one of pleasure.

“You feel so amazing,” he told her as he thrust back into her, taking great delight in her moans and gasps. “God you’re so beautiful,” he said as one of his hands took a hold of her legs and lifted it over his waist for a better angle.

Bonnie moaned his name as she began to match his thrusts, nails digging into his back as his went deeper into her.

“That’s it, darling,” he encouraged as she moved against him. “Just like that.”

Their lips met in a fiery kiss and Kol moaned when Bonnie bit down on his lip and their tongues tangled together.

Bonnie nearly screamed when he hit a new spot inside of her while Kol smirked and kept aiming for it.

“Do you feel good, Bon?” he whispered into her ear as he hit it again.

“Oh!” she cried and grabbed onto him. “So good,” she answered him almost incoherently and placed her face in the crook of his neck, almost unable to handle the intense feeling of her release nearing.

“I’m so close, Kol,” she moaned into his neck, biting down when she felt another intense wave of pleasure that hit her when Kol reached down between their bodies and started to rub her clit.

Her toes curled and her nails dug deeper into Kol’s muscular back and it wasn’t long before she finally welcomed her release, with Kol soon following.

Kol fell beside her on the bed, pulling out at the same time and immediately missing the feeling of her tight heat squeezing around him. He looked over at the panting witch and smiled. She was breath taking like this.

“I love you, Bonnie Bennett,” he found himself saying and turned to lie on his side, his hand gently messaging her breast.

“I love you too, Kol Mikaelson,” she replied with a playful voice and welcomed his kiss. “That was incredible,” she whispered against his lips.

The two of them spent the next few minutes kissing and holding each other while they came down from their high, crawling under the covers when they did.

Bonnie felt completely at ease wrapped in Kol’s arms with her head resting on his chest.

“Can I ask you something?” Kol asked and broke the comfortable silence. Bonnie nodded. “A promise,” he said and Bonnie moved to look up at him. Kol moved Bonnie so she was lying down and he half hovering over her. “That no matter what…it’ll be us. No matter what people throw at us, we’ll get through it.”

He knew he was being slightly dramatic but during their silence he remembered what he had to do even though no part of him wanted to.

“Why are you saying this?” she asked and reached up to run her hand through his hair.

“You know how strongly I feel for you but you also know how people feel about us being together,” he explained, mainly referring to her friends.

“You think they’ll try to tear us apart?”

“I know they will,” he muttered and Bonnie frowned.

“They can try but they can’t change how we feel towards each other and we’ve been through too much to let anything else stand in our way,” she said, smiling up at him. “So yes…anything that anyone throws at us…we’ll get through. I promise.”

Bonnie pulled Kol down for a passionate kiss.

“You should sleep,” Kol said to her once they pulled apart and he brushed some damp hair away from her face. Bonnie gave him another quick kiss and a smile before settling in his arms for the night, sleeping coming to her rather quickly.

xxx

It had been over an hour and once Kol was sure Bonnie was fast asleep, he slipped out of bed and quickly redressed. He turned back to Bonnie’s sleeping form, his hand gently pushing some of her hair away from her face, his fingertips brushing down her cheek in a feather light touch.

“I hope that you can forgive me for this,” he whispered to her before he pressed a soft kiss to her lips.

Kol quietly closed his bedroom door behind him after he left Bonnie alone in his room. Something that was incredibly hard for him to do.

His mother was going to pay for this. He was going to find a way to end her for good and when he did he would return to Mystic Falls and to Bonnie and hope that she could forgive him for what he did. He knew it would take some work but he would do whatever it took and more.

“So you sleep with her then leave?” he heard Rebekah’s voice from behind him. “That’s low even for you. I never would have left you two alone if I knew that’s what you would do.”

“Bekah, just don’t,” Kol pleaded with his sister, the guilt clear in his voice. Having to do this was difficult enough; he didn’t need Rebekah making it worse.

“You don’t have to leave, Kol,” she said and walked towards him. “Don’t let some witch threaten you into leaving. Bonnie loves you and now you two can finally be together without any secrets or lies. Isn’t that what you wanted?”

“This isn’t about what I want,” he said.

“If it’s about what Bonnie wants I can tell you right now that it’s not this.”

“It’s not about what she wants but what she needs.” And deserves. A life without pain.

“And what do you want me to tell her when she wakes up?” she asked, not exactly accepting what her brother was about to do but no matter how much she was against it, he would do it anyway. “You can’t just leave her without any explanation why.”

“Just tell her that I realised that I could never trust her after what she did and we’d never have a future together.”

“I don’t suppose you could have come to that conclusion before you slept with her,” Rebekah scoffed. She knew her brother was a total asshole but she honestly was not expecting him to sleep with Bonnie and just leave her like this.

“This isn’t easy for me, Rebekah,” he snapped at his sister, attempting not to raise his voice and wake the sleeping witch down the hall.

“Then don’t do it.”

She could not understand why he was letting what Lucy said get to him. Since when did he ever listen when someone told him what to do?

“What else am I supposed to do?”

“Are you even listening to yourself?” Rebekah felt like she was talking to a completely different person instead of the brother she’s known for a thousand years. “What’s the real reason you’re leaving because I can’t believe it’s just a threat from a witch that’s doing this to you.” She was met by silence. “You’ve been threatened by hundreds of witches, Kol but suddenly this one you’re taking seriously?”

“It wasn’t a threat, Bekah. She was just telling me what I should have already known. That a future between me and Bonnie is impossible and I’m not good for her.”

“That’s completely rubbish!,” she scoffed. “In the entire time I knew Bonnie before you came along, I saw her smile maybe twice at the most but after she met you…” she trailed off. “She’s happy when she’s with you,” she smiled. “Anyone can see that, especially Lucy.”

“And what about our future?”

“That’s for you two to talk about, no one else matters in that situation. And who knows? Maybe she’ll want to turn you’ll never know unless you actually take the chance to find out.”

Kol knew his sister had a point but there was still the matter of his mother and her relentlessness to destroy them. She could easily use Bonnie against him, use her as a weakness and he couldn’t allow that. As long as she’s with him, she’ll always be caught in the middle of him, his siblings and his mother and that wasn’t fair on her.

But there was one other thing, one that hung over him more than anything. He knew that Bonnie would never want to be a vampire, no matter what Rebekah says, he knows this to be true. Kol couldn’t let himself fall further for Bonnie if he’s only going to end up broken hearted when the time comes and she doesn’t want to be changed.

That might very well destroy him. So maybe his reasons where selfish, but he knew it was for the best. For the both of them.

Or so he tried to tell himself.

xxx

The next morning Rebekah was down in the kitchen when she heard Bonnie upstairs, only just waking up. The blonde frowned when she heard Bonnie call for Kol.

Rebekah was furious that Kol left her to do this. Left her to be the one to tell Bonnie his bogus reason he left. She was more than tempted to tell Bonnie the truth, being that Kol was leaving because of something Lucy had said.

The Original sent a quick text message to Bonnie, telling the witch to meet her in the kitchen. She had made sure Elijah and Klaus were nowhere near the mansion, she knew the last thing Bonnie would want would be those two lurking around after what Rebekah had to tell her.

“Where’s Kol?” Bonnie asked as she entered the kitchen and the Original could tell by her tone she already knew something wasn’t right.

Rebekah sighed, not even knowing where to begin. All she knew was she did not want to have to do this.

“He left,” she told her, eyes looking down at the counter instead of at the girl across from her.

He left?

Why would he do that?

“Why?” was all Bonnie could bring herself to ask as she tried to comprehend what Rebekah told her.

Kol left her? Even after last night and what they shared together?

“I don’t know,” Rebekah answered and reached out over the counter and covered Bonnie’s hands with her own, trying to give her some comfort. “But I’m so sorry.”

“Left as in not coming back?” she found herself asking and she felt her heart actually ache when Rebekah nodded her head. “And he didn’t say why?”

“No, he didn’t.” Rebekah wasn’t going to tell her that crappy excuse Kol had given her. “Are you okay?” the blonde asked after a few moments of silence.

“I don’t know,” Bonnie replied. The young witch didn’t know what to make of this yet. She was still trying to process what she had been told.

“Do you want me to take you home?” she asked. “Your cousin came by earlier, she was worried but I told her I’d get you home.”

“Uhh…yeah…that’s probably a good idea,” she replied, beginning to feel a little lost.

Rebekah led Bonnie to her car, the young witch not saying a word, making Rebekah feel all the more horrible. She knew she had nothing to feel bad for but Kol was her brother, her blood so by default she felt like she was responsible for this.

“You can call me for anything, you know that right?” Rebekah spoke half way through their trip. “No matter what Kol did, you are still my friend and I’m going to help you through this.”

Bonnie appreciated what the blonde was saying, but today she just wanted to be alone with her thoughts.

“I think today I just want to be alone,” she said to Rebekah who nodded her hand, understanding her friend’s need to be alone.

They spent the rest of the trip in silence and the green eyed witch nearly sighed in relief when they soon arrived back to Bonnie’s house and Lucy was waiting out front. The older witch immediately brought her cousin into her arms. “Why don’t you go inside and I’ll be in soon,” she suggested and Bonnie nodded.

She turned to Rebekah, a small but forced smile on her face. “I’ll see you later,” she said before quickly making her way inside the house.

“Thank you for bringing her back,” Lucy thanked Rebekah, at least trying to be pleasant with the Original.

“It’s the lease I could do for her after what you made my brother do,” she replied venomously.

“I’m just trying to keep Bonnie alive and prevent her from any further heartache,” Lucy defended herself.

“You know, I find it funny,” Rebekah spoke to Lucy once Bonnie was inside, though there was no hint of humour in the vampire’s voice. “Out of all of us, you are the one who has caused her the most pain. Physical wounds are easy to heal but emotional wounds…they’re a lot harder to mend. And what she and Kol had, she may not get over very easy.”

The blonde was pleased to see that her words had evoked some guilt from the older Bennett witch. She needed to know that what she had done had caused more harm than good. She needed to know that it was her that ended up being the one to hurt Bonnie, not Kol.

With that said, Rebekah made her way back to her car, leaving Lucy alone to her thoughts.

xxx

Bonnie went straight to her bedroom and shut and locked the door behind her. She really didn’t want to be around anyone.

Not even a minute after locking the door, Bonnie could feel all the build-up of emotion she had been feeling since Rebekah told her this morning become too much for her to keep bottled up inside anymore. She didn’t even make it to her bed; she just dropped to her knees in the middle of the room and began to sob hysterically and uncontrollably.

She didn’t understand any of it. The how or the why…none of it, it just didn’t make sense to her.

How could Kol do this to her?

How could he tell her that he loved her, share a special and beautiful night together then just leave her like that?

She could hear Lucy knocking on her door, calling her name through the wooden barrier, asking if she was okay even when it was clear she wasn’t.

Bonnie didn’t react at all. She just remained in the centre of the room crying her eyes out. But soon enough the knocking and the concerned words stopped but unfortunately her tears did not.

She thought what she felt when she found out Jeremy had kissed Anna was heartbreak but that was nothing compared to how she felt right now. She felt broken, completely and utterly broken.

xxx

It had been two hours since Rebekah bought Bonnie home and Lucy had not been able to get her cousin to talk to her. She had locked herself away in her room since she got home and had not come out since.

At least she had managed to get Bonnie to unlock the door so Lucy was able to check up on her regularly.

She honestly did not know what to do. Bonnie’s father and his girlfriend where at work so she wouldn’t have to worry about them coming home until later but she needed to find a way to get Bonnie to feel a little better.

Lucy asked her if she wanted Elena or Caroline but she said she didn’t want to talk to anyone. She just wanted to be alone.

The older Bennett felt like a complete bitch. She had stuck her nose into her cousin and Kol’s relationship, attempting to do right by Bonnie and this is what it caused. She knew she would have to tell Bonnie what she had done and she would but not today. Today she just had to get it all out of her system and hopefully tomorrow she would feel just a little bit better.

But most of all Lucy didn’t want Bonnie to be alone. She wanted her to have someone with her, to make sure that she was okay. She pulled her phone from her bag and scrolled through her contacts until she found the name she was searching for.

xxx

Bonnie looked up when she heard her bedroom door open, expecting it to be Lucy, for some reason she only began to cry harder when she saw Damon enter her room.

Lucy had told Damon what had happened and what she said to Kol. She also told him how she was refusing to talk to anyone. The older Bennett witch thought Damon might be her best bet at getting Bonnie to open up.

Damon said nothing as he walked over to the crying girl and he sat down next to her on the floor, their backs leaning against the side of her bed. Bonnie had her knees pulled up to her chest with her arms wrapped around her legs as she tried to give herself some sort of comfort.

The blue eyed vampire wrapped his arm around the witch’s shoulder and brought her close to him, allowing her head to rest against his chest. His other hand came to rest on her head, gently stroking her hair.

Damon didn’t really know what to say but he couldn’t help feel a bit responsible for the tears the young girl was shedding. It was his idea for Bonnie to get close to but he had no idea that it could have escalated to this. He also felt anger. Anger that the only thing they got out of their plan was a teenaged girl with a broken heart.

“Can I do anything?” he asked her after a few minutes of just holding her. He felt her shake her head against his chest.

He did nothing for the next hour, just sat there with his arms wrapped around her. She stopped crying after half an hour but she still remained silent so he did too. He figured she’d talk when she felt like it and he would wait as long as needed. He was part of the reason she was in this mess, the least he could do was be there when she needed someone.

“Thank you,” he heard her whisper.

“What happened?” he finally asked as she moved away from him to lean back against the side of the bed. “Lucy didn’t tell me much. Only that he had left.”

“That’s about it, really,” she replied and whipped her still damp eyes on her jacket sleeve. “We slept together then he left,” she said with no hint of emotion showing in her voice at all.

She slept with him? Damon wasn’t exactly expecting that. He didn’t know that her feelings for Kol were to that extreme.

“I just don’t understand it. Why he would leave like that?” She thought they were going to work everything out but apparently she was wrong.

Because he’s a dick, was what Damon wanted to answer with but he decided not to.

“I just feel like such an idiot,” she sighed and rested her forehead against her knees.

“You are not the idiot, Bonnie,” Damon said and Bonnie looked up at him. “Kol is the one that left, he is the idiot.”

“Thanks, Damon,” she said with a small smile.

The blue eyed vampire felt a sense of accomplishment when she gave him a smile. He doubted that she had much to smile about today.

“You hungry?” he asked her and she nodded.

“Starved,” she replied.

Crying always made her hungry.

Damon got up off the floor and held out a hand for Bonnie to take. “Let’s go get some lunch,” he said when she pulled herself up. Damon placed a protective arm around her shoulder as he led her out of her bedroom.

xxx

Rebekah Mikaelson hadn’t heard from Bonnie in two days so she was surprised when her phone rang and Bonnie’s name popped up.

“Hey,” Bonnie greeted Rebekah when she answered her phone.

“Hey, is everything okay?” Rebekah asked as she noticed Bonnie was sounding oddly okay and even a bit chipper.

She couldn’t possibly be over this already, could she?

“Everything’s fine, I just need to ask if you can you do something for me?” she asked the Original answered with a quick ‘sure’. “Convince Kol to come and see me tonight,” she said and Rebekah sighed.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Bonnie,” she frowned.

“Please, Rebekah,” Bonnie pleaded. “It’s important and I would tell you what it is but that would just give him a reason not to come.”

Rebekah released another sigh. “I’ll see what I can do. But I can’t promise anything. Changing Kol’s mind isn’t easy.”

“Just tell him it’s important,” Bonnie said.

“I will,” Rebekah replied.

“Thanks, Bekah,” Bonnie said with a gratefully voice.

Rebekah hung up the phone with a sigh before looking back up to her brother. “I think you should go.”

Kol shook his head. “I can’t see her.”

“But you want to otherwise you would have left by now,” she responded and placed her hands on her hips. “It’s been two days and you haven’t even left Mystic Falls at all. If that’s not a sign that you shouldn’t leave I don’t know what is,” she smirked and Kol rolled his eyes at her.

Kol decided that he would go to Bonnie tonight, he would see what she needed to tell him and then he would make his final decision on what to do.

xxx

Bonnie returned home after paying a visit to Caroline, she avoided her father and Sally in the kitchen (both of whom knew something was wrong but they decided to wait until Bonnie came to them) and headed straight to her bedroom.

She wasn’t at all surprised when she saw him standing in the middle of her room. She knew he’d come.

“Kol,” she said his name, almost gratefully when she saw him. “Thank you for coming,” she said with a small smile and stood in front of him. He didn’t say anything but Bonnie could see the guilt and the hurt in his eyes on his face no matter how hard he tried to hide it from her.

“Rebekah said you needed to tell me something important,” he finally spoke and she found just the sound of his voice alone was enough to make her smile.

“I know what Lucy did; what she said to you and I want you to know that you shouldn’t listen to her and she was way out of line with what she said,” she said to him, standing only a foots distance away from him.

All she got in reply was silence. A frown crossed her face. She closed the distance between them, her hands rested on his chest. “Please don’t go.”

“I don’t want to leave you,” he confessed and before he could stop himself, one of his arms had slid around her waist.

“Then stay with me,” she said softly as she stood on her toes to press her lips to his. “I love you, Kol,” she whispered against his lips before pulling back with a small smile. Bonnie well was aware of how much Kol loved to hear her say that, so she was a little guilty to admit that she used that to her favour in this situation but it wasn’t like she was lying to him so she didn’t see any real harms in it.

Next thing she knew it was Kol pressing their lips together, adding more pressure.

Kissing her was a relief for him, ever since their night together he had not been able to rid her from his mind and it had been torture for him not being able to touch or kiss her.

“Why didn’t you just talk about this with me? See what I wanted?” She couldn’t understand why Kol took what Lucy said and just accepted it. She would have thought that after they were finally together, he’d be more resistant to someone trying to stand in their way.

Kol frowned. “She got to me at the perfect moment, I guess,” he told her. “I just nearly killed you and you were lying half dead. She told me you’d have a better chance living a life without me and I believe her.”

Bonnie looked up at him confused for a moment before her face fell as realisations began to hit her as she recalled some of the things he had said to her that night, how he reacted when she first went to see him, how he tried to push her away from him.

Bonnie didn’t know when Lucy had spoken to Kol but Rebekah told her that morning that Lucy had been there to check up on her, she assumed that was when it happened. She didn’t know it happened the previous night while she was unconscious.

“She came to you before we…” he nodded slowly and Bonnie pushed him away from her. “You slept with me even when you had every intentions of leaving afterwards,” she said felt the tears she’d tried so hard to hold back all day rising to the surface.

How could he have done that to her?

Kol didn’t realise that she was only aware of Lucy talking to him and not when she did.

_Shit._

“And when you said all that stuff…” she found it difficult to speak without getting choked up. “You were referring to this, weren’t you? To you leaving?” she bit down hard on the inside of her cheek to stop herself from tearing up when he nodded.

Kol swallowed hard as he watched her reaction.

“I had every intention of coming back to you but I needed to destroy Esther before I could,” he tried to explain to her but she didn’t care. “But everything I said to you that night, I meant it, okay?”

The sound of her hand connecting with his cheek echoed through her bedroom. Kol’s head snapped to the side but the impact had hurt her more than him, physically anyway. And if that wasn’t enough, what she said next had more impact on him than anything she could have done.

“I hate you,” she spat out at him, her voice so full of pain and anger that he had to turn away from her, the guilt he felt was far too overwhelming.

He heard her mutter it again, much quieter this time, his enhanced hearing being the only reason he did hear her broken, tear filled voice.

“No. You don’t,” he replied and found himself reaching for her but she pushed him away from her.

 “You’re right, I don’t. But I’ll learn to. It shouldn’t be that hard.”

Bonnie felt nothing as she watched his face, watched it flood with emotion, with pain, hurt, anger, sadness…all of it and she felt none of it. She felt nothing.

He was confused. He came here with every intention of making her hate him. Hating him would make his leaving much easier on her but everything she said made him think twice. Made him realise the mistake he made. But he screwed up again and now she wants to hate him and that’s a thought that he can’t bear.

“Beautiful, you don’t mean that,” he tried to tell her but she wasn’t having any of it.

“I never want to see you again so please leave,” she said her voice just above a whisper as she looked anywhere but at him.

Kol frowned but held back his emotions as he stepped closer to her but Bonnie still didn’t look at him. She didn’t do anything when he leant down to place a gentle kiss to her tear stained cheek.

“I love you, too,” he said to her, his lips brushing over her ear as he spoke.

He backed away from her, mentally screaming at himself for fucking things up even more. He should never have come see her.

xxx


	24. Expression

It had been three long, horror filled months since Kol had left.  So much had happened in such a short period of time. It was almost hard for Bonnie to believe that only three months had passed.

The day after Kol left, Bonnie had asked Lucy to leave Mystic Falls. Looking back, Bonnie knew how awful she acted towards her cousin, but at that point in time Bonnie was just so angry. She had just lost someone she loved because of something someone else she loved did. She couldn’t even look at Lucy without feeling anger so Bonnie believed it was best for the older Bennett witch to leave Mystic Falls and carry on with her own life.

Two weeks after Lucy had left, Esther returned but Bonnie never got to face her, not face to face, anyway. The Original witch had come to Bonnie in a dream the night of the 20s decade dance and had taken over her body, using her as a blood bag for Alaric to complete his transition into the ultimate vampire hunter – one that cannot die.

He nearly drained her dry that night so she was thankful when she woke up with Damon kneeling over her and with his bloody wrist at her mouth, healing her wounds. She and Damon had become closer after the whole Kol debacle. Bonnie felt like Damon was the only one she could really confide in about how she really felt.

She didn’t know why, but she felt strange talking about her relationship with an Original vampire to Elena and Caroline. She knew she didn’t have to feel weird about it but she couldn’t help it. And she certainly could not talk about how she felt with Rebekah, no matter how hard the Original tried to convince Bonnie it was okay, the witch just couldn’t talk to Rebekah about Kol. He was her brother after all; it was the same when she was with Jeremy. She couldn’t talk to Elena about how she really felt.

Needless to say, Bonnie and Rebekah drifted apart. Rebekah tried to keep a friendship with Bonnie and she appreciated that but Bonnie couldn’t. Every time she looked at Rebekah she was reminded of Kol and she couldn’t handle that.

The same day she was saved by Damon, she desiccated Klaus. It was also the first time she got a taste of dark magic and it frightened her how much she enjoyed the feeling it gave her. After performing the spell and after Stefan and Damon left with Klaus’ body, Bonnie wondered if Kol would find out what she did to his brother and wondered if he would do anything.

Would he come back to Mystic Falls? Would he be furious with her?

She would be lying if she said she wasn’t disappointed when he did nothing. There was a little part of Bonnie that wished that he did, just so she could see him because no matter how hard she tried to hate him –and she tried damn hard- it was impossible.

But what Bonnie didn’t know was that her actions led Klaus to be a sitting duck against Alaric’s vampire hating alter-ego, who her desiccation spell was originally supposed to be for because he was unable to be killed but he eventually came to his end when Elena did. Elena had figured out that Esther had tied Alaric’s life to hers so if Elena died, so did he.

So when Bonnie discovered that Alaric was hunting Klaus, she was worried. His death would bring the death of her friends that were vampires, Caroline, Tyler, Damon, Stefan…she couldn’t let them die.

She also didn’t want Kol to lose his brother.

She didn’t know how to save him but it was Tyler Lockwood who came to her with a plan, a good one. He wanted to sacrifice himself, at least for a while anyway. They would transfer Klaus’ spirit into Tyler’s body until they could find another body for Klaus to jump into.

It saved Klaus and more importantly, it saved her friends.

However, the most intense thing that happened was Elena’s sudden death and transformation into a vampire. It had caught everyone off guard, and no one knew exactly how to react to it. They were all stunned but at the same time they were not surprised. Deep down, they all knew that it was only time before the doppelganger became part of the un-dead, whether it be by an accident or by choice, it was only a matter of time.

But what stunned Bonnie the most was who caused Elena’s death. Bonnie didn’t even have time to tell the blonde she had saved him brother so she killed Elena out of vengeance.

None of them were even aware of the vampire blood that was in her system until Meredith Fell had told Damon when he went to find Elena and Stefan at the hospital.

Upon awakening Elena was devastated when she was told what happened and what would happen

Bonnie had taken it upon herself to try and help Elena, to find a way to prevent her transition. She was in between life and death, it would have been possible for her to travel to the other side and bring the part of Elena that was dying back to the still living part of her and she would have succeeded in her plan to but at the very last minute, she was stopped.

By her Grams.

Bonnie was just about to bring Elena back with her from the other side but before she could, her Grams had appeared behind Elena and immediately sending Bonnie back to her body.

As soon as her eyes had opened, Jeremy pulled her into his arms but Bonnie couldn’t even bring herself to enjoy the comfort. She had failed in helping her friend, she had angered the spirits but worst of all she had angered her Grams.

Her grandmother made it quite clear that she want Bonnie to stay away from all of this Original drama and how did Bonnie respond to that? By putting herself in the middle of every situation that appeared.

She had disappointed her Grams.

Bonnie didn’t save Elena. It might have been what she wanted, but she couldn’t do it. It wasn’t right. She shouldn’t be abusing her powers; she shouldn’t have been dabbling in dark magic to begin with.

It was then Bonnie made the decision to stay away from dark magic and keep to the traditional stuff but then Klaus came to her in Tyler’s body, threatening to kill Tyler and jump into another body if Bonnie didn’t put his spirit back in his own.

Bonnie tried to tell him that she couldn’t do it. That she wasn’t strong enough and that the consequences would be severe but of course he didn’t listen. So she did the spell but it came at a cost.

Her Grams. The most important person in the world to Bonnie and now the spirits were doing God knows what to her because of Bonnie’s actions.

That was the third time Bonnie had lost her Grams and it had destroyed her emotionally. The next week Bonnie spent alone in her home, ignoring any calls that came or knocks at the door.

But when Stefan came to her with a hunter problem, she knew she had to try and get her magic back but every time she tried to use, she would see the spirits torturing her Grams.

Things in her life started to look up when she met Shane, a professor at Whitmore collage who used to work with her Grams. He knew about the supernatural and witchcraft and had offered to help her with her magic by teaching her a new way of using, one that didn’t come from nature or from the spirits.

He called it Expression.

It was difficult to get the hang of at first; it was like learning the craft all over again. She had to take baby steps and majority of the time when she used it, it didn’t turn out in the way she had wanted to but she was slowly getting there.

But most of all, she liked that he was there for her. Bonnie had been so used to helping everyone else that it felt nice that someone was helping her for once. And she got along really well with Shane which was a big plus.

She enjoyed being around him. She had made things easier for her in the last two months she’d known him and he had quickly become somewhat of a mentor for her. She found herself going to him whenever she felt like she needed someone to talk to because as much as it hurt her to admit, she didn’t feel as close to her friends anymore.

Elena had a lot to deal with, with Stefan and her sire bond to Damon and Caroline had to deal with Tyler and Klaus. Bonnie just felt like they didn’t have time for her and her issues. She couldn’t even confide in Damon anymore since his obsession with Elena reappeared.

Bonnie might like Damon, but she didn’t like him when he was with Elena. It changed him for the worst. Bonnie loved Elena dearly but she believed the doppelganger brought out the worst in the older Salvatore.

So when her father returned home from a long business trip, and suddenly became Mayor of the town after the tragic ‘accident’ of Carol Lockwood’s death and how he suddenly wanted to be a part of the supernatural (something he had ran from and would never accept what she was) it wasn’t her friends who she vented to, it was Shane.

The older man had managed to calm the young witch down long enough to talk to her about her powers and how far she had come and how proud of her he was. She was almost upset to here that their training had come to an end and that Shane believed that Bonnie was capable enough to continue on on her own.

The green eyed witch was surprised when he handed her a small tin box. She opened it to find a beautiful, old necklace inside but she nearly dropped it and gagged when he told her that it was made from human bone.

He then proceeded to tell her that it had belonged to the two thousand year old witch named Questia and that Bonnie should be able to use the necklace to help channel her powers.

It was enough to nearly make her forget about the fact it was made out of human bone.

Bonnie gave Shane one last thanks before she left his office and down the long hallway outside, the necklace he had given her in her hands. She was a little creeped out that it was human bone, but it had once belonged to an extremely powerful witch.

It meant a lot to her that Shane had thought highly enough of her to have given something so priceless to her.

xxx

Kol Mikaelson could feel his heart thumping in his chest as he watched Bonnie leave the professor’s office, the close she came to him, the harder it thumped. This was the first time in three long, gruelling months that Kol had seen her.

That night when she told him to leave, he left and he didn’t look back. He thought it would have been easier to leave if that was what she wanted but as it turned out it wasn’t. It was hard having to live each day knowing she was trying to teach herself how to hate him.

But here she was, looking more beautiful than she ever had and he couldn’t do anything about it. She didn’t want him in her life and it didn’t seem like she missed him in it either. Whenever he asked Rebekah about her his sister told him the truth, that she was doing fine and he couldn’t help but feel a little hurt when Rebekah told him she was acting like he didn’t exist.

If only it was that easy for him to forget her as it was for her to forget him.

And that was only a month after he left. It was a difficult one for him to get through without returning to Mystic Falls. In his departure from the small town, he was joined by Elijah (something he was quite thankful for even if he would never admit it) both of them were in regular contact with Rebekah who would always inform them of what was happening in the small but eventful town.

Kol’s first challenge came when his sister told him that Esther had returned once again but this time with a much more devious plan. They did not know what it was until it was too late. Esther had taken over Rebekah’s body in hopes of finding the last White Oak stake – something she had succeeded in. The final part in her plan included the history teacher, Alaric. According to Rebekah, Esther had poisoned Alaric’s mind each time the hunter died which eventually created some type of vampire-hating alter ego and that Esther had helped the alter ego take over his body completely by turning him into a vampire but not before giving him the now indestructible White Oak stake that he planned to use on all of them.

The only thing that prevented him from returning was knowing that Bonnie was not in any immediate danger. The teacher would only target the vampires of Mystic Falls. But Rebekah had also promised him that she would watch out for Bonnie and keep her from danger.

That gave him some peace of mind. Not much, but enough to keep him away.

The second came a few days later when Alaric was on the loose. The once again received another call from Rebekah, informing them of how she narrowly avoided the hunter who apparently could not be killed but what stunned them was when she told them that Bonnie had put down Klaus, desiccating him.

It was then Elijah returned back to Mystic Falls, but Kol remained where he was and it was the night after when he received news that the hunter had killed Niklaus, had killed his brother.

Part of Kol wanted go back to Mystic Falls, wanted to find Bonnie but not for the same reasons previously. He wanted to make her pay for what happened. His brother was left defenceless against the hunter and it cost his life because of what she had done to him. But before he did he was told that no one from Niklaus’ bloodline had died and days later when Elijah returned Bekah rang, telling them that Niklaus actually alive. That Bonnie had done some kind of spell that saved him.

Whatever anger he was feeling towards her vanished immediately after hearing that.

The third time he was faced with the challenge of returning, he took it. Rebekah told me that Klaus had stuck a dagger in her heart and she revealed that the topic of the cure had become quite popular in Mystic Falls right now and that concerned Kol greatly.

If they were looking for the cure and if they found it (and they were very big ‘if’s’) they woke risk awakening someone very dangerous, Silas. Kol had a lot of issue with Silas rising but there was something else that he had an even bigger issue with.

Rebekah had also revealed a number of other things, like Bonnie’s involvement with a college professor with a wide knowledge of all things supernatural and a big interest in Bonnie and her magic.

Kol didn’t know what this professor wanted with Bonnie but he sure as hell intended to find out so when Rebekah asked him to bring the professor to her, he was only happy to oblige. He knew he’d be the one beating the life out of him anyway.

Kol waited until Bonnie turned the corner before making his way to the professor’s office.

“Did you forget something?” the professor asked as soon as Kol walked into his office. He had clearly mistaken him for Bonnie as he hadn’t even looked up from the papers on his desk yet.

Kol wasted no time and used his speed and soon had his hand firmly around the man’s neck and roughly pulled him from his chair. He headed towards the window and used his elbow to smash the glass before pushing the professor out, himself quickly following.

xxx

Bonnie stopped dead in her tracks when she heard the bang and crash coming from Shane’s office. The witch quickly ran back towards his office and was left wide eye. His office was a mess and he was nowhere to be seen.

Who the hell had taken him?

Shane’s knowledge about the supernatural and the cure was now well known by the vampires of Mystic Falls and maybe some others and that meant that he had a massive target on his back so maybe heading back to Mystic Falls would probably be her best bet and if nothing she would cast a locator spell to find him and hope whoever had him didn’t kill him before she could get to him.

xxx

Kol had stuffed the professor in the trunk of his car and was now on his way back to Mystic Falls and towards the high school where his sister had told him to meet her. The Original vampire turned the music up louder when started to get annoyed with the banging and the screaming.

He could not wait to get his hands on the man in the trunk, he was already imagining some of the thing he would do, the screams that would rip from the professor’s throat as Kol broke each of his fingers. Kol made himself smiling as his imagination ran wild.

He was always fond of torture. Giving it and even receiving it on some occasions (meaning if they were good at it). During his time away from Bonnie, he had sought out many vampires and humans and inflicted pain upon them. Something he would never reveal to Bonnie. Kol knows she knew he was a bit of a sick bastard, but to what extreme she really had no idea and he intended to keep it that way.

Kol also began to wonder how long it would be until Bonnie realised her professor friend was taken and how long it would take to find him. Kol planned for him to be long dead by that stage.

A smirk crossed the Original’s face when he drove passed the “Welcome to Mystic Falls” sign.

 “Won’t be long now, mate!” He called out to the professor in the trunk. Shane, he thinks Rebekah called him. He didn’t really care anyway.

Dead men don’t need names.

xxx

School had finished when Kol had arrived so he didn’t need to worry about being seen when he opened the trunk and dragged the professor out by his neck, heading towards the library to meet Bekah.

“Who are you?” he asked as Kol pushed him along the halls.

Kol was kind of surprised that he didn’t know who he was (Rebekah had talked him up to knowing everything) but Kol was sure it wouldn’t be too long before he figured it out. He was supposed to be smart after all.

Soon enough he reached the library and threw Shane against the wall next to the door before opening it and poking his head through.

“Hello, sister,” he greeted sweetly and looked over her shoulder to the three vampire’s compelled. He chuckled at their reactions when they saw him.

“Kol,” Rebekah grinned and moved closer to him. “Did you bring what I asked?”

Kol gave a sinister smirk to his sister before he grabbed a hold of Shane’s arm and pushed him into the library.

Rebekah eyed the man. “Shane, such a pleasure to finally meet you.”

Shane looked back and forth between Kol and Rebekah before looking to Caroline, Stefan and Elena behind the blonde. He wasn’t too sure what was going on, but he was slowly beginning to put the pieces together.

Kol…

He recalled Bonnie mentioning an Original vampire that she once had relations with whose name was Kol. He had a sister, Rebekah.

His eyes widened slightly when he realised who was in front of him but by that point the two have them had dragged him off to a storage closet.

“You’re Kol and Rebekah Mikaelson…Original vampires,” he said, slightly in awe.

“So you do know who I am,” Kol smirked. “Took you long enough, I was beginning to think you weren’t as smart as I was led to believe.”

“It took a while but I figured it out,” he said, his eyes on Kol. “Bonnie told me of an Original vampire she once had a relationship with; she said his name was Kol.”

Kol growled at the mention of Bonnie and went to take a step towards the now smug professor but Rebekah’s arm whacked him in the chest, keeping him back.

“Enough of this!” Rebekah cut in and pushed Kol out of the way and stood in front of Shane, her eyes locking with his. “What do you know of the cure?” she compelled but Shane only smiled.

“Compulsion doesn’t work on me,” he told them with pride. “A little something I picked up on my travels.”

“Well then,” Rebekah huffed and then turned to Kol. “He’s all yours, big brother. Beat him, torture him, do whatever you want just don’t kill him,” she said left her brother alone with the professor.

 _Oh, this is going to be fun,_ Kol thought to himself as he took slow steps towards the now cowering man.

xxx

Bonnie raced into the school and headed straight towards the science room. There would be things in there she would be able to use for a few spells. She had gone home quickly and done a locator spell and it had led her to the school.

“Bonnie!” April’s surprised voice came from the other side of the room when Bonnie entered.

“April?” Bonnie’s was just as surprised to see her.

What was she doing here so late?

“How did you know where everyone was? Did you do some witchy locator G.P.S thing of something?”

Bonnie just looked at the younger girl. “Everyone? Who’s everyone? I’m here to find Shane.” She paused for a moment when she realised what April had just said. “Wait how did you know I was a witch?”

“Rebekah told me,” she replied.

“Rebekah?” Bonnie raised her voice a little. How could Rebekah reveal her secret to April?

“And she had everyone compelled in the library, she’s getting them all to tell the truth for once,” she shrugged and Bonnie’s eyed widened.

Rebekah took Shane.

Bonnie ran over to the other side of the room, looking for some salt for a protection spell.

“What are you looking for?” April asked.

“Salt. For a protection spell. Shane can’t be compelled and Rebekah will happily torture him for everything he knows,” she said and moved some things around, putting them on benches to prepare for the spell.

“I think I saw some salt up here,” she said and reached up to one of the shelves and grabbed a hold of a container of salt and handed it to Bonnie.

Bonnie took it from her and began to pour some salt into three separate beakers before spreading them out over the benched. She took out the necklace Shane had given her and prayed that it would connect her to Shane so the spell would work.

xxx

“I will ask you again,” Kol growled and gripped the back of Shane’s head tighter. “What are you doing with Bonnie?”

“I’ve already told you,” he replied, out of breath from the amount of times Kol had dunked his head underwater. “I’m just helping her with her magic. She came to me and I helped her. That’s it.”

“Now why don’t I believe you?” Kol asked and pushed his head back underwater.

“Whether you believe it or not, it’s the truth,” Shane gasped when Kol pulled his head back up.

“Why did she come to you? Why did she need help?”

“Why don’t you ask her?”

Kol shoved his head back under the water. “I’m asking you now tell me!” Kol demanded when he pulled Shane back up.

“She tried to prevent Elena Gilbert from turning into a vampire but the spirits punished her by punishing her Grams. Whenever Bonnie would use magic, they would torture her grandmother. She came to me for help, and I helped her,” Shane explained to the Original.

Kol recalled what Bonnie told him about her grandmother when they first met, how close she was to her and how devastated she was when she died.

“How are you helping her?” he asked and held Shane’s face dangerously close to the water.

“I’ve been teaching her a new form a magic, one where she doesn’t need the spirits permission and she can be her own person,” Shane said and it took a minuet for Kol to realise what type of magic he was talking about.

Expression.

“You decided to teach a grieving and vulnerable witch the most dangerous magic of all?” Kol growled. It wasn’t the fact that Shane was doing it, it was the fact that he was doing to Bonnie.

Expression was dangerous and he didn’t want his sweet witch getting involved with that.

“It’s not dangerous if she knows how to use it and how to control it,” Shane replied and Kol pulled him up before tossing him to the ground.

“Expression cannot be controlled. Every witch who believed they were in control died because of it.” Shane groaned out when Kol delivered a hard kick to his abdomen. “Why are you teaching her it?” he demanded and placed his boot to Shane’s side to roll him onto his back. “What are you planning for her?”

Shane’s eyes moved to Kol, a sick grin playing on his lips. “Everything. She is the key to everything.”

It took a second for Kol to pick Shane up by the throat, lifting his feet from the ground and just letting him hang there. “What do you mean she’s the key to everything?”

“I know the real reason your sister had you get me and it wasn’t about my intentions for Bonnie,” he managed to get out through Kol’s tight grip around his neck.

The cure.

 “No,” Kol growled and threw Shane into the wall but before he even fell to the ground, Kol was there. “Stay away from Bonnie, I will not tell you again.”

Shane shook his head, a dazed look on his face from everything Kol had done. “We can both benefit from this,” he said. “I don’t want the cure but I know where it is. I can show you and you can have it.”

Kol looked at him with a confused look. “If you don’t want the cure then why are you after it?”

“Because I want what is buried with it,” he said. “I want to raise Silas.”

xxx

“So,” Rebekah said as she walked into the room. “Did he tell you where it is?”

“I can take you to it,” Shane said weakly from the floor. After revealing what he truly wanted, Kol had given him a real beating.

“Leave it alone, Bekah,” Kol said from the other side of the room. “Getting the cure will not be worth it when Silas delivers hell on earth.”

“Silas?” Rebekah questioned looking back and forth between Kol and Shane. “Has that fairy-tale still got you spooked, brother?”

Kol hated that he was the only one out of his entire family that believed in Silas and believe in the destruction that his awakening would bring.

“You know very well that it is not a fairy-tale. Silas is very real and very dangerous,” he responded and stepped closer to his sister. “He will bring hell on earth and somehow, baby sister, I don’t think you are able to handle it,” he said and pulled the White Oak stake out of his pocket, waving it around in front of Rebekah with a smirk.

“How did you get that?” Rebekah demanded as she eyed the stake and her brother cautiously.

“Much too easily,” he answered her. “You’ve never been good at hiding things, Bekah.”

Kol may have made a bit of a stop to his sister’s new house; it took him all of five minutes to find where she had hidden the stake. He tucked the stake away in his inside jacket pocket, his expression turning serious as he looked back to his sister.

“He’s planning on using Bonnie, Rebekah. He had introduced her to Expression and he will use her to wake Silas, he will use her as the final sacrifice.”

“What?” Rebekah gaped as she looked back to Shane who was still trying to recover from the beating Kol gave him.

“I know you want the cure, sister but I am not going to let him sacrifice Bonnie,” he told her and his voice made it clear the Rebekah that this was not opened for discussion.

Rebekah cared for Bonnie, she really did but she wanted the cure. She wanted to be human. It had been all she wanted since she found out about the cure, she’d never wanted anything more in her entire immortal life than to be human again and unfortunately that trumped her friendship with Bonnie.

“Maybe another witch can do the spell,” Rebekah suggested but Shane chuckled in the corner.

“No other witch, just Bonnie.”

“Why her?” Rebekah questioned him, getting in his face and demanding an answer.

“Because she is a decedent from the two thousand year old witch who placed the spell on Silas,” he explained to the blonde

“Does it have to be Bonnie or can any Bennett witch do the spell?” Rebekah asked Shane and stood back up and looked to Kol. “Lucy,” she whispered to Kol.

“It could be any Bennett witch but it would be easier to be Bonnie. She’s already using the magic, I’ve done the sacrifice of twelve to unlock her Expression powers,” he answered and Rebekah snapped back around to look at the slouched professor.

“You’re the one who blew up the council.”

“And organised the sacrifice of the twelve hybrids,” he managed a grin that made Kol’s skin crawl. “Soon she’ll learn how to use the full potential of Expression and she’ll be unstoppable and she’ll be on my side.”

“No!” Kol growled and before he knew it he was shoving a copper rod into Shane’s stomach, ignoring his sister’s plea to spare her only lead to the cure from death. “I will not let you do that to her,” he said and watched the professor bleed out.

xxx

“Help!” Bonnie cried out as she knelt over a bleeding April. Bonnie didn’t know what had happened. One minuet she was doing a protection spell for Shane and the neck April was coughing up water, drowning from the inside.

They both thought whatever it was was over but then she started to bleed out, like someone had stabbed her through the stomach.

“Someone help!” she cried out again, not knowing what to do. She had done this; she must have somehow tied April to Shane when she did the spell. But she didn’t know. She didn’t feel anything.

“Bonnie?” Elena’s voice came from the door of the classroom as she ran in, Stefan hot on her heels. “What happened?” she asked and got down next to April.

“I don’t know. I must have tied her to Shane when I tried to do a protection spell. I had no idea,” she explained and watched Stefan feed the dying girl his blood and sighed in relief when April’s eyes opened and Stefan attempted to calm the scared and confused girl.

She looked freaked out, but she’d be fine.

“You need to get her out of here,” Stefan said to Bonnie who nodded and helped up April, her arms around the younger girl to help her stay on her feet. “But be careful, Tyler is out there and he’s changed,” he warned her.

“What about you guys?”

“No we can’t,” Elena said. “Rebekah compelled us, we can’t go anywhere.”

Bonnie was reluctant to leave her friends with Tyler out there in wolf form, one bite from him and her friends could die, but she needed to get April out of there and somewhere safe.

There was also the matter of Shane, he was lying somewhere in the school and hopefully he was okay, hopefully her spell had worked.

xxx

“Did you have to kill him?” Rebekah asked her brother as they left the school after she was done with her torture on Elena and Stefan.

“Do you really need to ask that?” Kol retorted. “I will protect Bonnie at any cost.”

“Even at the expense of your sister’s happiness?”

Kol rolled his eyes at her. “You know that I have been against the cure since we discovered its existence so don’t act like I’m choosing Bonnie over you because even if Bonnie had nothing to do with this I still wouldn’t let you get the cure, Bekah,” Kol confessed. “Especially now since we know it is buried with Silas and getting it means awakening him.”

“Oh! You and Silas!” Rebekah exclaimed in annoyance. She was so over Kol and his paranoia about Silas. All because a few witches years ago told him a spooky story.

“Silas may very well not exist but do you really want to take that chance?” Kol questioned. “Do you really want to risk unleashing hell on earth which could very well kill us all?”

xxx

Bonnie had only just dropped April off at her house when she received a text message from Shane. He had already gotten back to his office at the college and needed to see her.

Good, Bonnie thought. She needed to know what the hell was going on with her magic and why a simple spell nearly resulted in the death of an innocent girl.

“You have got some serious explaining to do,” she said to him as she barged into his office the moment she arrived at the college. “Care to tell me why I nearly killed an innocent person tonight by using magic you taught me?”

“It’s because you don’t know the extent of your abilities. You can do so much with Expression, Bonnie but it can be dangerous if you miscalculate it,” he tried to explain to her and Bonnie just looked at him. “You just need more practice.”

“I nearly killed a person tonight and you want me to keep practicing?” she asked, looking at him as if he was insane. “You know what? I can’t deal with this,” she threw her hands up. “My dad is back and now he is the mayor and I can’t be out doing black magic,” she said and turned to walk away from him.

“I have told you that Expression is not black magic!” he called after her and stopped her from leaving.

“Then what the hell is it?” She demanded and faced him.

“A way to do magic without being monitored or punished by the spirits,” he told her. “It’s neither good nor bad, it just is. It has no limit which is why it is considered danger by most witches,” he stood up and moved closer to her. “But you, Bonnie Bennett are not most witches. I know you can handle this you just need to learn how and I promise you that I will help you. I promise you that I will never let anything happen to you. You are the key to all of this and I promise you that I will not let anything bad happen to you.”

xxx

When Bonnie returned home from Shane’s office she received a call from Caroline.  She was tempted not to answer it, after her conversation with Shane and what had nearly happened to April; Bonnie just wanted to turn in for the night and try to forget it all.

But she couldn’t just ignore Caroline; her day had been just as difficult.

“Hey,” Bonnie greeted her friend as she answered. “Is everything alright?” she asked. It was late and usually it was an emergency whenever one of her friends rang this late.

“Um…sort of,” Caroline’s reply left Bonnie confused.

“What’s going on, Care?”

“There is something you need to know,” she said and Bonnie just really wished her friend would get to the point. She hated conversations like these, especially as of late.

“Just spit it out, Caroline,” Bonnie pushed when her friend paused, She was a little harsher then intended but she just wanted her friend to tell her what the hell the latest problem was so she could go to bed already but what her friend told her, she was definitely not prepared for.

“It’s Kol…he’s back.”


	25. Family Issues

Bonnie’s phone dropped from her hand and bounced against her bed. She could still hear Caroline’s voice on the other end, asking if she was okay but she ignored her friend.

Kol was back?

After three months he’s back?

Why?

The green eyed witch tried to compose herself long enough to pick her phone back up and talk to Caroline, needing more information. “When did you see him?” she asked her friend.

“Today, when we were in the library,” she told Bonnie. “He’s the one that got Shane for Rebekah.”

He’s the one that abducted, tortured AND killed Shane? She really shouldn’t be surprised by that.

“Bonnie, are you okay?” Caroline asked, sounding concerned.

“No,” she answered truthfully. She wasn’t okay.

She was confused as to why he was back and angry that he finally decided to return after so long and that he had gone after Shane – someone who she really trusted and had come to care for.

“Do you want me to come over or maybe you come over here?” Caroline suggested. “It might be better if you come here seeing as Kol has an invite to your house.”

“I don’t think that’s necessary, Care,” Bonnie replied. “I don’t think he is here for me.”

If he was, he’d have contacted her by now. He’s here for the cure. Like everyone else. Probably siding with Rebekah considering he took Shane to her.

“You sound a little disappointed by that,” Caroline noted. There was no judgement or confusion in her voice and Bonnie was thankful for that.

Maybe she was. Not a day had gone by where Bonnie didn’t think about Kol, he was permanently stuck in her head and every day she wished for him to return and eventually he did but it wasn’t for her. So yeah…Bonnie could not but feel a bit of disappointment.

It seemed that Kol had moved on from her.

“I’m just surprised is all,” she responded. “But you don’t need to worry, I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?” Caroline was a little hesitant about leaving Bonnie alone while Kol was back on the loose in Mystic Falls and had an invite to the witch’s house.

“Yes, I’m sure plus my dad wants to start acting like a family and spend some time with me,” Bonnie told her blonde friend, her tone showed her annoyance when she mentioned her dad.

A month after Kol, something had happened between her dad and Sally that caused them to break up. Her dad, Rudy, took it pretty hard and threw himself into his work and took a two month long business trip and Bonnie had hated him for it ever since.

She honestly could not believe that he would leave her on her own for two months – yes, he may have returned for a few days here to try and there but he was still gone for two months even though he knew something was wrong with her and how depressed she was and now he returned and wanted to act all fatherly?

No way.

Bonnie wasn’t having any of that.

“Still having issues with him being back?” Caroline’s voice broke her thoughts.

“I cannot believe they made him mayor of the town,” Bonnie groaned and sat on her bed. “Like he suddenly wants to be a part of the supernatural world?”

The whole thing just annoyed Bonnie.

He never wanted to be a part of her life as a witch but now he wants to have a say in every little thing she does?

It doesn’t work like that.

“Anyway…How is Tyler?” Bonnie asked Caroline, changing the subject. Bonnie and Tyler may not be close, but she knew what he was going through. His mother was all he had left and now she was gone. She felt the same when it was her Grams.

“Not good,” Caroline sighed. “I found him in the gym; he just broke down, Bon. He blames himself for what happened to her.”

Bonnie frowned. She of all people knew what it was like to try to do something good but have it backfire tragically. But at least Bonnie had her dad, they might not be close right now but she did have him. Tyler had lost all his family.

His father had died (something Bonnie felt guilty about everyday), his uncle (another thing) and now his mother. But at least he had Caroline. Caroline would always make sure he was okay. He’d never be truly alone as long as he had her.

Those two were seriously lucky to have each other.

“Bonnie!” She heard her father’s voice boom from the living area.

“Ugh!” Bonnie groaned into the phone. “I got to go, the mayor is calling me,” she said sarcastically, causing Caroline to laugh. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Care,” she paused as she remembered why Caroline called in the first place. “And thank you for telling me.”

The two friends said their goodbyes and hung up and Bonnie stomped her way to the living room to face her father.

“What time do you call this?” he questioned her as soon as she sat down on the couch. “Why are you home so late?”

Bonnie rolled her eyes. “I had to help Elena and Caroline then April got hurt so I helped her get home.” There was no use lying to him, he already knew about everything plus, he needed to know that she was quite capable of handling and protecting herself and the town.

“It’s far too dangerous for you to be out on your own this late,” he said and Bonnie shook her head at him and his sudden concern.

“I’m a witch, dad. I’m very capable of taking care of myself,” she responded. “Or have you forgotten what I am?”

“I have always known what you are Bonnie.”

“You just didn’t want to see it,” she jumped in and added and her father sighed.

“I lost your mother to witchcraft, Bonnie; I didn’t want to lose you too.”

Bonnie looked away from him.

“Why are you being like this, Bonnie?” he asked her. “I only want to protect you.” She scoffed at that.

“You want to protect me?” she snapped and got up to stand up to him. “You left me when I needed you most. I was going through a really hard time and you just left me on my own!” her voice dropped. “How was that protecting me?”

Bonnie just looked at her dad with disappointment when he said nothing and she pushed passed him before she locked herself away in her room.

It was hard for Bonnie. She had lost Kol then she lost her dad.

xxx

Kol Mikaelson was outside the Bennett residence when Bonnie slammed her door shut after her conversation with her father.

He had been here since she returned home; he had heard her phone conversation with Caroline, he heard the blonde baby vampire tell Bonnie that he was back in town and he saw how Bonnie reacted to that (he could have sworn that was a bit of disappointment her tone).

It made him smile, that part of her still wanted him here, wanted to see him but it would be for the best if he did not. He wouldn’t be here long after all. Just long enough to find out where the cure is and to make sure no one ever gets to it.

He had continue to listen in on her conversation with Caroline, he heard of the troubles Bonnie was having with her father - which surprised the Original because from what he remembers when he had dinner with them that night, Bonnie seemed rather close to him.

But when her father returned home that evening, he found out what had caused their falling out. It seemed that not long after Kol had left town, her father had gone through some troubles of his own and left too, leaving Bonnie all alone.

Kol should never have left. She needed him and he wasn’t there for her.

He listened to her argument with her father and how emotional and heated she would get when she spoke to him. He heard her voice crack when she said her final piece to him before he heard her walking back up the stairs and to her room. He heard the door slam and a click of the lock but the worst was hearing her sobs.

He tried so hard to keep himself grounded and not jump up there and comfort her like he so desperately wanted and like she needed.

Kol wanted to stay here and keep an eye on Bonnie, make sure nothing happened to her but he had a bunch of newborn vampires to hunt down and kill so that hunter, Jeremy, would not get to complete his hunter’s mark. And if worst came to worst, he’d just cut off the boys arm.

At least that will keep him entertained for a while.

xxx

Bonnie Bennett sat in the empty police station, waiting for her father and the Sheriff to come back out after locking up Shane.

Just when Bonnie thought things couldn’t get much worse, Shane had confessed to being the mastermind behind blowing up the twelve council members (and Klaus’ hybrids).

Bonnie felt like such an idiot for trusting him but she just wanted someone so badly that she guessed it didn’t matter who. Plus, she thought she could trust him since he worked with her Grams.

Worst of all, he had made her lose control and in front of her father of all people. The look on his face when she stopped him with that wall of fire would be etched in her brain forever. He looked frightened.

She had managed to scare her dad and Shane just sat there the whole time with that stupid look on his face. She wanted to slap it off.

She looked up when she heard her father enter the room with Liz Forbes. Liz looked at her with caution while her father with concern.

Great, she thought, just what she needed, for her dad AND the sheriff to see her lose it and think she was a total freak.

xxx

Kol had gotten to the _Mystic Grill_ about an hour ago. He had come back from slaughtering all those vampires, beating the shit out of Damon Salvatore before leaving the younger vampire with a compulsion to kill the hunter. He had then returned back to Klaus’ mansion and narrowly avoided a dagger in the back by his darling sister, but threatening her with the White Oak stake made her back of pretty quickly.

Kol would never use the stake on his sister, but he wasn’t entirely sure if she wouldn’t use the dagger on him. Could he not trust anyone in his family anymore?

All that had built up quite an appetite for him, but his plans to feed on the lovely red headed waitress were put on hold when he saw his beautiful witch enter the building about a half hour after he arrived.

Bonnie had walked in with her father and Kol could almost see the tension surrounding the two of them and of course, he needed to know what had happened.

So he listened in on their conversation and he heard what had happened today. He heard that Bonnie discovered what Shane had done and that she had nearly lost control over herself and her power and since hearing that, his desire to protect her had gone into overdrive.

But one good thing had come from that, she had seen who Shane really was and she was smart enough to see how insane the professor was. She never wanted to see him again and for that, Kol was thankful.

He overheard her father talk about getting help for Bonnie who immediately refused, She said she didn’t need help and that she was fine and in complete control.

Kol nearly scoffed. He wasn’t even there but he could tell she lost it.

“Stalking her now, brother?” Kol heard Klaus say as he sat next to him at the bar.

“Stalking is such a negative term. I like to think of it as protecting her from a distance,” Kol corrected him. “Why are you here, Klaus?” he asked him. “Did you promise Rebekah you would finish the job?”

“You pulled the stake on her,” he said and ordered himself a drink.

“I would never have used it on her; it was just to scare her off because unlike you I care for our family.”

“If I didn’t care for you, I’d have let Mikael get to you,” Klaus responded.

“I see,” Kol deadpanned. “You daggered us out of love.”

“I know that is hard to believe but it is true,” Klaus replied.

“Why are you really here, Niklaus?” Kol asked him, tiring of his brother’s company and ‘sweet’ words.

“You need to remove your compulsion from Damon Salvatore,” Klaus said and Kol scoffed.

“Nope,” he replied and took another drink.

“I need the hunter alive, Kol,” Klaus gritted, getting very tired very fast of Kol’s attitude and how much more difficult his presence in this town has made things for Klaus.

“I don’t nor do I want Damon Salvatore alive.”

“Because of the cure or because of a different reason?” Klaus asked and motioned towards the young witch who was involved in a heated conversation with her father.

Kol glanced at his brother for the first time since Klaus had sat down next to him. “What are you talking about?”

He honestly hadn’t the faintest clue what his brother was referring to? What other reason would he have to kill the hunter other than to stop them from getting the cure?

“Well after you left, Bonnie and Damon became quite close and she and Jeremy have been spending a bit of time together lately not to mention the fact that she is his detour,” Klaus explained.

“Detour?”

“There was a bit of an issue when Jeremy first became a hunter, trying to kill Elena and all but now whenever he feel a little murderous, all he has to do is look to the young witch over there and poof, murderous thoughts gone,” Klaus smirked. He rather enjoyed the look on Kol’s face. “I think there may be some romance rekindling there,” Klaus continued. He couldn’t help it; he just loved to rile Kol up.

“If you want me to kill him, please, by all means keep going,” Kol growled.

He was tempted to deal with the hunter’s curse if it meant getting rid of Jeremy, but then if he did that he’d have about a one hundred per cent chance of losing Bonnie for good so he’d settle for Damon killing him.

Kol watched as Bonnie left the grill, her and her father going separate ways. He heard Bonnie saying she would head home and see him when he got back.

“The compulsion stays, brother,” to Klaus and finished off his drink before he followed after her.

xxx

“He did what?” Bonnie gaped into the receiver of her phone, Elena on the other end. She couldn’t believe what her friend was telling her.

Bonnie had only just Bonnie returned home from the grill after dinner with her dad (who had gone to see Liz again, with a promise to return home soon), when he phone began to ring from her bag. She immediately knew something was wrong when Elena’s name was on the screen.

Sometimes Bonnie thinks she should personalise Elena’s ring tone to the _Jaws_ theme because her friend only rings when she wants help or advice for a plan. Bonnie couldn’t remember the last time Elena just rang to see how she was doing and catch up.

“Kol compelled Damon to kill Jeremy,” Elena repeated.

“Is Jeremy okay?” Bonnie asked with concern.

“Yeah, Stefan stopped Damon at the last minute. He locked Damon up in the cellar in the basement,” Elena told her. “I tried to go see him but Stefan would let me, he used the damn sire bond excuse saying that if Damon told me to let him out I would.”

“A real reason isn’t an excuse, Elena,” Bonnie said. “You are sired to Damon, you do what he wants. You would let him out if he asked you to.”

She heard Elena sigh on the other end. “Whatever,” the doppelganger mumbled. “But now we are back to square one. Kol killed all those vampires; he’d compelled Damon to kill Jeremy and even threatened to rip off Jer’s arm and Klaus has threatened Matt!”

“Look, don’t worry about it. Klaus wants the cure just as much as we do, he’ll keep Kol in line,” she tried to pacify her friend and calm her down. “Just keep Jeremy and Matt safe. Keep them at your place; neither Kol nor Klaus have an invitation to it. They’ll be safe there and I’ll be over tomorrow morning to check up, okay?”

“Okay,” Elena agreed. “I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

After they hung up, Bonnie was about to head straight to her room, eager to get some sleep after the emotionally draining day she had endured but of course, she could never have it so easy. The sound of the doorbell ringing through the house made Bonnie let out an annoyed groan.

Couldn’t people just leave her alone tonight?

Bonnie didn’t give who was at her door, if they asked her for any kind of help – she’d fry their ass. She’d had about enough of everyone’s shit for one day.

“What?” she growled as she swung the door open.

She was left completely blindsided by who was standing there.

“Is that any way to greet a guest, beautiful, especially one that only wants to help you?”

“Kol,” she uttered his name in shock.

She knew that she would eventually face Kol…actually she didn’t. She didn’t think he’d ever contact her. But knowing he was back and seeing that he was back were two very different things.

Seeing him standing there brought all those memories back of him, ones that she had tried so hard to forgot (she never did but she managed to push them away) but now it was impossible to think of anything else but him.

“What are you doing here?” she asked him.

“Like I said, to help you,” he answered her. “Can I come in?” he asked.

“You already have an invite,” she responded, a little bit confused to why he was asking her. She invited him in months ago, did he suddenly forget or something?

“I do but I also told you that I would not abuse that invite so if you don’t want me inside, I won’t,” he replied and tried to meet her eyes but she avoided all contact, looking anywhere but at him.

He was trying to leave things to her, let her make the decisions. He was trying to make things just a little bit easier for her.

“My dad will be back soon,” she said and he nodded.

“I’ll make it quick then,” but before he could continue, she stepped aside and motioned for him to come inside.

Kol crossed over the threshold, very gently brushing against Bonnie who took in a deep breath as she tried to calm herself before she closed the door behind Kol.


	26. Tension

Bonnie led Kol to her room, as much as she didn’t want him in there she knew her father would be pissed to come home and find an Original vampire in his house, especially after what had happened today.

Rudy knew Kol was a vampire. When he returned as the new mayor he asked Bonnie if Kol was and she said he was one of the Originals. He’s nearly lost his head when she told him but she reminded him that Kol left and wasn’t coming back so if her dad came back tonight and saw Kol, she’d never hear the end of it.

Bonnie took a seat on the end of her bed and tried to keep her eyes off Kol as he looked around her room but failed miserably. She noticed that his hair was different; it wasn’t slightly spiked at the front like it used to be but now lay against his forehead. She found that she liked it, it suited him.

“How have you been?” Kol finally spoke and Bonnie raised an eye brow in response.

Did he really just ask her that?

“Whatever you came here for just spit it out so I can get you out of my house,” she ignored his question and rushed him to get to the point of his visit.

“Well, you’re the one who said I could come in but fine,” he said with a hint of amusement and Bonnie stiffened as he took a seat beside her on the bed. “What do you know of Silas?” he asked her.

“Not much, only what I’ve heard from Shane,” she answered. “That he is an immortal being who was imprisoned and buried alive by a witch. He never spoke much to me about Silas.”

“Because he knew that if he told you, you would realise raising Silas would be a terrible mistake,” Kol responded. “This is why I have come to you, Bonnie; because I know you are the only one who will listen.” Bonnie looked straight ahead while Kol looked to her. “Silas cannot be released.”

“Silas is buried with the cure, isn’t he?” she asked and could see him nod out of the corner of her eye. “And releasing him would be bad?”

“More like catastrophic. It is said that with the awakening of Silas will come the end of time,” he told her and she finally turned to look at him and saw that he was being serious, there was no hint of humour anywhere on his face or in his eyes.

“How do you know this?”

“Years ago I knew this coven of witches, they knew of Silas and they told me and said he must never be risen or he will bring the end of the world then years later I came across this group of Silas worshippers, they wanted to awake him.”

“You killed them,” she finished for him and he nodded.

“Every last one of them,” he said and felt her tense up when he placed a hand over hers. “Bonnie, you are the only one who can do the spell to raise Silas so I felt that it was you who truly needed to know what you would be doing.”

“But Elena needs –

“Elena doesn’t need anything,” he cut her off. “She is perfectly fine as a vampire, darling so stop putting her first and start putting yourself first.”

“You can’t come back here and start telling me what to do,” she said and snatched her hand back and stood up to put some distance between them but it wasn’t any use, he followed her.

“I’m not telling you what to do; I’m telling you what you need to know,” he stood right behind her and placed a hand on either shoulder. “All I want to do is keep you safe, darling.”

She spun around and once again pushed him away. “I don’t need you to keep me safe,” she told him. “I don’t need you to do anything for me.”

Kol took Bonnie’s face in his hand and made her look at him, something she had been refusing to do since he got here.

“Bonnie, listen to me; I don’t care what I have to do or who I have to kill, I will not let you and your friends awaken Silas. Even if I have to kill your hunter with my own hands and suffer the curse, I really don’t care, I will do it,” he told her truthfully.

Dealing with the hunter’s curse isn’t exactly how he wanted to spend the next twenty or so years but if that is what it took, then so be it.

“Would you kill me?” she challenged him and her eyes bored into his. “If I’m the only one who can do the spell wouldn’t killing me be the better option?”

“I would never kill you, Bonnie,” he admitted and his thumb brushed over her cheek bone affectionately. “But I have no qualms about leaving this town and taking you with me somewhere they will never find us.”

Kol suddenly dropped to his knees in front of her, her room now filled with the sounds of cracking bone and Kol’s cries of pain but he never lowered his head. Even if his body was overcome with pain, he kept his head up and made sure her eyes never left his.

Bonnie just stood tall in front of his, eyes locked with his, but her composure would fall just a little bit with every pained groan that came from Kol’s mouth but she didn’t ease up.

This wasn’t just about what he said, this was about every he had done to her. This was about him leaving her. It had hurt her more than she ever wanted to admit to anyone, her friends might have thought she would have been overacting but Bonnie had never trusted vampires but she trusted this one. She let herself love him and he broke her heart.

She wanted him to hurt like he hurt her.

Her magic let up sooner than she had planned, but she couldn’t exactly keep torturing an Original vampire in her room when her dad had just arrived home.

“You better be gone by the time I come back up,” she threatened before she attempted to walk around him but his arms had weakly grabbed around her legs, stopping her from leaving.

“I’m only trying to keep you alive,” he managed to get out through the pain and let go of her legs as the healing slowly began to take effect.

xxx

Kol Mikaelson returned back to his brother’s mansion, now fully healed from Bonnie’s earlier assault. The youngest male Original honestly did not see that coming...

He didn’t expect it to hurt as much as it did either. He didn’t doubt her, but he didn’t realise just how powerful she was. It had to be the Expression magic; she couldn’t just become that powerful over a three month period.

He’d never known a witch to become that much stronger in such a short period of time.

“What happened to you?” Klaus asked his brother when Kol entered the study where Klaus had been painting his latest masterpiece.

“She attacked me,” he muttered and dropped himself on the couch. “Our conversation was going so well then she just unleashed hell on me.”

“Hell hath no fury like a witch scorned,” Klaus smirked and continued to paint.

“I can’t believe she did that.”

“You broke her heart, brother, what did you expect? For her to welcome you with open arms?”

“Of course not but I was not expecting that level of power from her,” he said and Klaus ceased painting and turned his attention to his brother. “How did you feel when tried to kill you the night of the sacrifice?”

“Like I was being ripped apart from the inside,” Klaus answered as he recalled that night in his memory.

“And that was with the power of a hundred dead witches?” Klaus nodded. “She doesn’t have that yet she broke nearly every bone in my body in mere seconds.”

“Impressive,” Klaus responded. “I guess that professor had made more progress with her than I originally thought,” he mused to himself.

“How could you let her get close to him?”

“She’s not my responsibility, Kol,” Klaus rolled his eyes.

“Then why didn’t you call me to tell me what the hell he was doing to her?” Kol shot at him. “I would have come back and taken care of it before it got to this stage.”

“Don’t you like her being all powerful, brother?” Klaus questioned with a smirk.

“I don’t like her dabbling in something as dangerous as expression,” he corrected his brother. “You’ve seen what it has done to witches, Nik, we both have and I will not allow Bonnie to succumb to the same fate.”

One thing Bonnie’s father had said was right, she did need help.

xxx

The next day Bonnie found herself stuck on decade dance decoration duty, it was usually Caroline’s job but the young blonde couldn’t bring herself to leave Tyler yet, so Bonnie offered to take over for her and the blonde reluctantly agreed.

“Isn’t this usually Caroline’s duty?”

Bonnie let out an annoyed sigh as soon as she heard the accented voice. “Caroline is busy helping Tyler, you know her boyfriend whose mother you viciously killed?”

“Tyler brought that upon himself,” Klaus responded and Bonnie nearly choked on her own saliva.

“No one asks for their parent’s to be murdered by some demented ass bastard,” she bit back, trying as hard as possible to keep her voice low. “Except for maybe you considering you killed your own mother.”

“Careful of how you speak to me, Bonnie,” Klaus warned and Bonnie scoffed.

“Or what? You’ll kill me in front of all these people?”

“No, I’ll kill all these people,” he smirked.

“You should ask Kol what I did to him last night,” she said with a smug grin. “It would make me very happy to do the same thing to you.”

“Yes I heard that you hurt my brother last night,” Klaus said in a not so happy tone of voice.

“Yeah well your brother hurt me so we’re even,” she countered and finished off the final balloon and let it drop to the ground. “What the hell are you doing here anyway?” she asked him before moving onto the next task Caroline had assigned to her.

“I wish for a favour,” he shrugged and Bonnie snapped back around to look at him like he was insane.

“Are you kidding me?” she stared at him. “You still owe me for saving your ass from Alaric and you’re already asking for more favours? You’re running up quite a tab here, Klaus.”

The hybrid couldn’t help but crack a smile. “I’ll find a way to pay you back, I assure you.”

Not giving in, but curious, she asked, “What do you need?”

“A distraction for my maniac of a brother,” Klaus answered and Bonnie let out a groan. “He’s been getting into all sorts of trouble and there is only one person I can think of to keep him out of it,” he said and gave her what he probably thought to be a charming smile.

Too bad Bonnie found absolutely nothing charming about the hybrid in front of her.

“Would he actually talk to me after last night?”

“If you called him, he would drop everything and run to you.”

It was almost worth doing to see if Klaus was right. “Is his number the same?” Klaus nodded. Bonnie sighed and pulled her phone from her back pocket and scrolled down to the name and number she could never bring herself to delete. She pressed send and held the phone up to her ear and waited for Kol to answer.

“Bonnie,” was all he said when he finally answered.

“Hey, look I’m sorry about last night but I’ve been thinking about what you said, about Silas and if he really is as dangerous as you say then I think it’s worth talking over,” she said and waited for his reply.

“Where do you want me to meet you?”

“Well, I’m stuck at the school for most of the day; I have a bunch of stuff to do for the dance tonight so if you can just come here that would be great,” she told him and sent a glare to Klaus who looked just about ready to pat himself on the back for being right.

“Okay, I’ll be there in twenty,” he replied.

“Okay, great, thanks.”

“Just when I thought I couldn’t hate you any more than I already do,” she grumbled to Klaus as she slid her phone back into her pocket.

“Don’t hate me for being right, love,” he smirked.

“You’re right. There are so many other reasons to hate you,” she quipped. “You should leave before he gets here,” she added before she went back to doing what she was previously doing.

“Just keep him busy as long as you can, I just need him out of trouble for a while,” he told her and she nodded, her back still to him. “And thank you, Bonnie.”

“Why don’t the rest of you believe him about Silas?” she couldn’t help but ask him before he turned to leave. It was a question that had been playing on her mind since last night.

Why was Kol the only one who believed in him?

“Who is to say we don’t?”

“If you did you wouldn’t be looking for the cure,” she said and then noticed the look on his face, like he wanted her to know that he was hiding something from them, that he had a different plan to theirs. “You don’t really want the cure, do you?”

Klaus just smirked at her before wishing her luck with his brother and leaving her alone.

“God, I hate him,” she muttered to herself as she watched him but she still couldn’t help but smile.

xxx

Bonnie was in the backstage area of the theatre department, sorting through boxes of the decorations they had ordered for the dance when she felt a pair of hands grab her waist, unfortunately it had startled her and the sudden movement caused the box cutter she was holding to cut through the tape of the boxes to slice her hand.

“Oh, crap!” she gasped and held her now bleeding hand. She heard Kol curse from behind her and spun her around to face him. “Crap that hurts,” she whined and looked up at Kol but glared when she saw he was smiling. “What the hell are you smiling for? That really hurt you asshole!” she whacked him with her good hand.

“I’m sorry but…you just looked so adorable like that,” he chuckled and took a hold of the bleeding hand to inspect the wound. He saw that the cut started between her index finger and thumb and stretched down towards the middle of her hand. “But I am sorry; I didn’t know you were handling a blade.”

“It’s fine,” she brushed him off. “I just need something to wrap it up in,” she said and attempted to pull her hand back but he kept a firm grip on it.

She hissed when his thumb ran over the wound then watched as he bought his thumb to his lips. She watched his eyes closed as he savoured the taste of her blood. His eyes opened and she knew what he was silently asking.

What she should have done was use her powers to throw him into the wall across from them and send him an aneurysm that he would still be feeling next week but instead she nodded. She couldn’t help it. She knew it was cheesy and corny, but the look in his eyes was just so intense that she couldn’t say no.

He lifted her hand to his mouth and his lips covered the small wound and he began to suck lightly, only taking what the wound would give him and nothing more.

 _Oh God, this is bad. This is very, very bad,_ Bonnie’s mind said over and over again. She needed to pull it away from him; she needed to pull away from him. But it just felt so good to have his lips on her skin

“Kol,” she tried to get his attention but it only came out as a breathy whisper as he tongue swiped over the wound.

_Bastard!_

He knew she was enjoying this.

“Okay, that’s enough,” she said and thankfully her voice came out strong enough that he heard it and pulled back but not before placing one last kiss to her hand.

Kol said nothing as he reached passed her and pulled a black, silk scarf from one of the surrounding boxes and began to gently wrap it over her wound.

“Thank you,” she said softly as he tied the ends of the fabric together.

“You’re welcome,” he smiled and reached to push some hair out of her face but she caught his hand.

“Don’t, Kol,” she frowned. “I need to talk about Silas.”

“What changed your mind?” he asked her and his hand dropped back to his side. “Yesterday you wanted nothing to do with it.”

“Yesterday I was overwhelmed and I was angry but when I calmed down I did think about what you told me and if this guy has got you spooked then it’s definitely worth thinking about.”

Kol looked over her face, looking for any sign of a lie or doubt but found nothing. She wasn’t lying to him, what Kol told her last night did concern her and she did want to talk more about it just not necessarily talk about it with Kol.

“Did you want to go outside and talk?” she asked him and began to lead him out and towards one of the exits leading to the back of the school. Being in the opened would be much safer she thought.

The dance committee can survive without her for an hour or so.

“So,” she started when they sat on the bleachers that looked over the football field. “Silas?”

“I covered pretty much everything last night, Bonnie,” he said. “Silas is dangerous and raising him would be a terrible mistake.”

“But you have no real proof that he actually exists, only the word from a couple of quacks,” she responded.

“Would you really want to take the chance of releasing hell on earth just so Elena can be human again? Something that I doubt it will stick anyway.”

“She’s my friend and I have to help her,” Bonnie replied even though some of her agreed with Kol. If Elena turned back to a human, it wouldn’t last. Something would happen and she’d wind up being a vampire again.

“Everyone here just bends over backwards for that waste of space and it makes me sick,” Kol groaned in frustration. He could never understand the appeal of Elena Gilbert or what it was about her that made people just line up to sacrifice themselves for her.

“Once again, Elena is my friend,” she responded, not appreciating the way he was speaking of Elena. Yes, Elena may not be the most attentive friend anymore but she was still a friend.

“She’s not, darling, she may have been but she isn’t anymore. Everything you do for her is now out of habit. You feel it’s your duty when it’s not,” he made her look at him. “You don’t need to help her anymore.”

“Does she ever thank you for the things you do for her, the risks you take for her?” he questioned her and Bonnie shook her head.

Elena had never thanked her, maybe once or twice at the beginning but definitely not as of late but Bonnie knew she was grateful for what she did, or at least she thought she was.

“If you ask me, she acts like she is entitled to your magic; everyone here does even my brother.”

Bonnie definitely agreed with that. Sometimes the witch found herself wondering how everyone would react if she said no for once. They’d probably threaten her into it somehow…

 “I just want you to know that I have every intention of stopping your friends and my family from finding the cure and I plan on stopping them from using you to find it,” he responded and brushed his fingers against her cheek. “I’m here for you, Bonnie. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

Bonnie nearly jumped out of her skin when she so suddenly felt his lips on hers. She froze, not even reacting to the kiss or his hand on her cheek.

Three months without him…it was so hard for her not to feverishly kiss him back but before she knew it she was returning the kiss. Bonnie inwardly sighed as their lips moved together. He was making it very difficult for her right now.

It was when his tongue swiped across her bottom lip that she snapped back to her sense and pushed away from him. “No, no, no,” she repeated in despair and got up from the seat. “This can’t happen, I’m supposed to be hating you right now,” she said pointedly at him.

“You don’t have to hate me, Bonnie,” he sighed and followed her as she began to walk off.

“Yes, I do,” she responded and turned to face him. “Hating you is easier than lov…” she paused as she realised what she was about to say. “It’s just easier.”

“You hate me because I made you believe we were going to have a relationship, I get that but -

“That’s not why I hate you,” she cut him off. “I hate you for leaving me.”

Kol’s expression quickly turned from one of confusion to anger. “I was willing to stay, Bonnie, I was ready to work through it with you but you wanted me gone.”

“Kol, I was angry, I just found out that you slept with me having every intention to leave afterwards. I said I wanted you gone but I didn’t actually want you to!” Kol just looked at her. “I wanted you to ignore that and stay.”

“And how was I supposed to know that?” Kol shot back, getting just as worked up as she was. “You were about ready to push me out the damn window if I didn’t leave. You said you never wanted to see me again.”

“I didn’t mean it!” she nearly screamed at him.

“Then why did you say it?”

“I don’t know,” she shrugged, her voice lowering to its normal volume. “I wanted you to hurt,” it sounded more like a question than a statement.

Kol couldn’t help but wonder if she was just making things up now, trying to make herself feel better.

“I was hoping that you’d still be around in the morning and that we could have spoken again and maybe it would have gone a little better,” she added and sat back down on one of the bleachers.

Kol sighed and sat back down next to her. “You could have called me,” he said. “I would have come back if you asked me to.”

“It’s no use talking about what could have been,” Bonnie muttered and put her face in her hands, elbows resting on her knees.

Bonnie couldn’t do this anymore. She couldn’t just sit here and talk to him. Screw Klaus, he could deal with Kol.

“I got to get back inside and finish up with the decorations because if Caroline finds out I skipped out on it, Silas will be the last of my worries,” she said and stood up but she felt Kol’s hand wrap around her wrist before she could leave.

He needed to say this before she left, she needed to know it.

“Please be careful with this Expression magic, Bonnie. I know it may seem like you have it under control but before you know it you’ll realise that you don’t and by that stage it may be too late,” he had a grave look on his face as he warned her about her magic.

“I am in complete control of it, Kol,” she told him rather convincingly before turning to leave him alone on the bleachers as she headed back inside the school.

“That’s what they all say,” he mumbled to himself with a sigh.

xxx

The last thing Bonnie wanted to do was go back to doing decorations for the dance after her conversation with Kol, so when she got back inside to find that her father had cancelled the dance she nearly sighed in relief.

So with nothing else to do for the say, she had decided to spend the rest of the day at home. So that’s what she did. She watched movies, ate ice cream but no matter what she did she kept replaying her conversation with Kol over and over again.

He is staying in Mystic Falls to protect her…he wants to keep her say.

She had mixed feelings about that. Unlike Shane or anyone else, Bonnie knew that Kol had no ulterior motives for her. He just wanted to keep her safe. But on the other hand, Bonnie felt like Kol had no right to do that. He couldn’t just come back after three months and play the part of the over protective boyfriend.

He couldn’t tell her what to do, or who she should or shouldn’t protect. He might not know or understand the value of friendship but Bonnie does and she and Elena may not be as close as they once were, but Bonnie still considers Elena to be a sister. She will always be there for her.

Nothing Kol could say would change that.

xxx

“Should we maybe get Bonnie in on this?” Matt suggested to Elena and Jeremy as they were preparing the weapons. “She can help.”

Elena shook her head. “No. I don’t want her involved and I know she still has feelings for Kol,” she said as she held Jeremy’s phone, waiting for the right moment to ring the Original to lure him to the house.

“Then why aren’t we just daggering him then?” Matt asked. “I might not like the guy but if Bonnie still likes him I don’t think we should kill him.”

“Kol took all the daggers aside from one which Rebekah has and we need to use that one on her,” she explained to Matt. “And killing Kol will kill every vampire in his bloodline and that will complete Jeremy’s hunter’s mark and remove his compulsion from Damon. It’s two birds with one stone, Matt.”

“I just don’t feel right in killing the guy Bonnie has feelings it for,” he said. “Even if he is a complete douche.”

“It’ll be for the best, Matt,” Elena said with a small smile but it didn’t leave Matt convinced.

The blue eyed quarterback felt like there was another doppelganger in the room and not the compassionate girl that he grew up with.  The Elena he knew wouldn’t be doing something like this, especially when the risk was hurting someone so close to her.

Elena let out a deep breath as she faced the two teens. “Are you guys ready?”

Matt said and did nothing but Jeremy nodded and that was okay enough for Elena. She looked down to Jeremy’s phone and began to search for Kol’s number and held the phone to her ear as she waited for the Original to pick up.

xxx

It was much later that evening when Bonnie was up in her room finishing up on some way overdue homework as she tried whatever she could to push what happened earlier with Kol out of her mind for just a few hours. But of course, her peace can never last long.

This time it was when she could hear her father arguing with someone downstairs.

Bonnie slammed her text book shut with an annoyed groan and left her room. “What is going on here?” she asked as she walked down the stairs to see her dad arguing with Klaus. “Klaus?” she asked with surprise. “What are you doing here?”

“Elena and Jeremy are about to kill Kol,” Klaus said as soon as he saw her and Bonnie’s face dropped at his words. “I need your help; I can’t get in there to save him.”

“What?” Bonnie exclaimed. They were trying to kill Kol?

“Bonnie, you are not going,” her father jumped in but he was ignored by both supernaturals.

“Bonnie, please,” Klaus pleaded with her. “I know you are angry with Kol and you have every right to be but I also know that deep down you still care about him.”

 “No, let’s go,” she said and grabbed her jacket and keys, ignoring her dad’s protests and she walked out the door with Klaus and headed to her car. Her driving would be much quicker than the hybrid’s speed.

Klaus was right. No matter how angry she was at Kol right now, she still loved him and she couldn’t let him die.

She wouldn’t.


	27. A New Alliance

Bonnie broke every Mystic Falls speed limit as she and Klaus raced to the Gilbert house to save Kol from becoming the latest victim to the new hunter.

Bonnie could partially understand why Elena believed Jeremy killing Kol would be a good idea, killing Kol would also kill every vampire in his bloodline and that alone must be thousands upon thousands of vampires – definitely enough for Jeremy to complete the Hunter’s Mark.

But Bonnie couldn’t let them do it. She may not be the biggest fan of the vampire species, but that didn’t mean all of them had to die. Ever since Caroline had been turned, it had opened the witch’s eyes and made her see that not all vampires are evil creatures, and surely some of those vampires in Kol’s bloodline were like Caroline, good people who had no choice in turning, or are like Stefan, trying hard to not give in to the bloodlust and not to hurt people. They didn’t deserve to die. But most of all, she doesn’t want Kol to die.

Even after what the Original did, she never stopped having feelings for him. Three months later and she still loved him as much as she did the day he left. She wouldn’t allow him to die. She couldn’t.

Before Bonnie’s car had even come to a complete stop outside the Gilbert residence, Klaus had jumped out of the car and sped towards the wide open front door but the invisible barrier blocked him from entering and getting to his little brother.

Bonnie shut off her car and ran after Klaus, pushing straight passed him and heading towards the kitchen where all the commotion was coming from.

Her anger fuelled her powers as she entered the kitchen just in time to see Elena throw the White Oak stake to Jeremy all the while trying to keep Kol down long enough for the hunter to make his attack.

With a quick move of her arms, both Gilbert’s went flying back, away from Kol. Jeremy hit the wall behind him, the impact knocking him out cold while Elena crashed against the refrigerator but Bonnie’s magic held her in place. She couldn’t move no matter how hard she tried. Bonnie saw the stake lying on the floor next to Jeremy and quickly ran to pick it up. 

“Bonnie!” Elena’s voice cried as she struggled against the invisible restraints. “What are you doing?” The hint of betrayal that Bonnie heard in the vampire’s voice made the witch glare.

How dare she act like that? Elena knew damn well how she felt about Kol and she still tried to kill him?

“I will deal with you later,” she said to Elena, her voice was low and threatening and with another motion of her arm, Elena’s head snapped to the side with a sickening crack before her  body slumped to the floor.

Bonnie then turned to the shocked and surprised Original, who hadn’t moved an inch since Bonnie came in. “Are you an idiot?” she nearly screamed at him. “You carry around the only weapon in the world that can kill you AND you bring it with you to your enemy’s house?”

She couldn’t believe how stupid Kol was to do that.

He opened his mouth to say something but she raised her hand to silence him.

“This is what you are going to do, you are going to go with Klaus – he is waiting outside for you, then you will go to Damon, remove your compulsion, never step foot near this house again and stay the HELL away from Jeremy.”

“Niklaus was a part of this,” he growled and Bonnie rolled her eyes.

“No he wasn’t. When you rang him, he came to me because he couldn’t save you himself,” she responded to him and her voice and face softened. “He might be pissed at you, but he doesn’t want to kill you. You’re his brother. He’ll stick a dagger in your heart but he would never kill you.”

Kol looked towards the doorway where Klaus waited before he looked back to Bonnie and nodded.

His hand lowered and wrapped around the stake in her hand but she snatched it away from him. “You are not having this back,” she said. “None of you are. I’m keeping it away from all of you.”

Before Kol left, he looked back to Bonnie. “Just go, Kol,” she said and shook off what he said. “I’m sure they’ll wake up soon and it’d be best if you weren’t here when they did.”

Kol nodded his head and Bonnie’s breathing hitched in her throat when he leant down to her and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Thank you,” he whispered against her ear before he left her alone in the Gilbert kitchen and joined Klaus out on the porch.

Bonnie turned her head and her eyes met Klaus’. She remained expressionless as he gave her a single head nod, signalling his thanks to her for helping him save his brother.

By the time Elena came to, Jeremy was still out and the look on Elena’s face nearly made the witch implode with anger.

She could see Elena eyeing the stake in her hand. “Try it Elena and you’ll be on the ground before you even move,” she threatened and the vampire immediately backed down.

“Why are you acting like this?” Elena asked her. “I’m just trying to save Jeremy.”

“So you decided that killing an entire bloodline of vampires was the best option?”

“It would have completed Jeremy’s tattoo and saved Damon from Kol’s compulsion,” Elena tried to explain to Bonnie.

“It would take no more than thirty or so vampires to complete Jeremy’s mark but you wanted to wipe out thousands of vampires. Did it not occur to you that maybe some of those vampires don’t deserve to die or does that way of thinking only matter when it’s your bloodline at stake?” she continued to speak before Elena could jump in. “And a simple dagger to the heart would have sufficed for breaking the compulsion.”

Bonnie rolled her eyes at the look she received from the doppelganger.

“Don’t you dare look at me like that, Elena,” she glared. “I swear it was only a week ago that I confided in you about my feelings for Kol and how I was still in love with him and tonight you tried to kill him?” Bonnie just looked at her friend, waiting for an explanation but she received none. Not a good one any way that warranted the death of thousands of vampires.

“I didn’t have a choice, he compelled Damon to kill Jeremy and he was going to cut off his arm.”

“You could have used a dagger instead of killing him or you could have come to me and I would have handled him!” she yelled at her ‘friend’ and slammed her hand down on the table. She was so furious by what Elena had just tried to do. Bonnie couldn’t even begin to imagine how Elena would react if Bonnie had tried to kill Damon or Stefan but it’s perfectly okay for Elena to kill Kol? “Why does there seem to be one set of rules for Elena Gilbert and another for everyone else?”

“Bonnie - “ Elena started but Bonnie cut her off.

“No, Elena, I’m not done but I am however, done bending over backwards for you. This cure…it’s not going to happen,” she moved to stand face to face with the shocked vampire. “You do not deserve it. You do not deserve another shot at being human because I know that you won’t cherish it. You will never let go of the Salvatore’s and as long as they are in your life, vampirism will always be in your future…odds are you’ll just end up turning again.”

“What are you saying, Bonnie?”

Bonnie stood up and moved to stand right in front of Elena. “What I’m saying, Elena is you can go screw yourself because I’m done being your little bitch.”

“No, Bonnie wait!” Elena chased after Bonnie.

“How would you feel if I tried to kill Damon?” she asked as soon as Elena grabbed onto her arm to stop her from leaving. “Or Stefan?”

The look on Elena’s face said it all. And even when Bonnie had attempted to kill Damon when Caroline was first turned into a vampire, Elena had stopped her and the look of betrayal that crossed her face the night of Founder’s Day when she discovered Bonnie hadn’t de-spelled the Gilbert Device…

“It doesn’t matter to you that I still love Kol, you were still willing to kill him just to further the plan that only benefits you,” Bonnie said, her disappointment clear. “That really shows how much you really care for me so goodbye, Elena.”

With that, Bonnie turned on her heel and walked straight out of the Gilbert house, never looking back and leaving a gobsmacked Elena in her wake.

After she left the Gilbert house (and hiding the stake somewhere safe), she found herself driving towards the Mikaelson mansion. She needed to see him. She didn’t have enough time to yell at him some more for being such an idiot.

Bonnie knocked on the mansion door and waited impatiently for someone to answer, soon enough the door opened and she saw Klaus standing there. No words were shared between them; he just stepped aside and pointed towards the staircase.

He was in his room.

Bonnie gave the hybrid a quick smile before she made her way up the stair case and towards Kol’s room, not bothering to knock when she reached it. She entered his room and found him lying on his bed in nothing but a pair of jeans.

Kol immediately got up when he saw her standing there. “What are you doing here?” he asked her, confused. He didn’t think he’d be seeing her again so soon, let alone her coming to him.

“First things first,” she said and caught him completely off guard when she took his face in her hands and smashed their lips together in a heated and desperate kiss, one that Kol immediately returned without hesitation.

Bonnie had every intentions of coming here to yell and scream at Kol, but seeing him now that she isn’t high on magic (and him being shirtless) made her realise how freaked out and scared she was when Klaus came to her to tell her what was happening.

Her hands moved from his face and down to his bare chest, enjoying how his soft skin felt beneath her hands.

 “You have no idea how scared you had me,” she rushed out between a kiss. “Seeing you almost die.”

Kol responded with another kiss and held her close to him and just enjoyed the feeling of her lips moving against his and the feel of her in his arms. With her lips on his and her hands on his chest, it was hard for him not to push for this to go further but he managed and honestly, after three long months without her, just a kiss was enough for now but if she wanted to take things further, he would allow her complete control to how far.

Unfortunately, she soon pulled away from the kiss but he was happy she didn’t move fully away.

 “Why are you here? Not that I mind,” he smirked but she quickly wiped it off when she slapped him across the face. “What the hell was that for?” he questioned with shock and held his face even though it didn’t hurt.

“For being an idiot,” she snapped at him and was very tempted to slap him again. “What possessed you to carry the stake around?”

“It was safer to have it with me,” he shrugged.

“Oh yeah totally safe that it was taken and nearly used against you by a baby vampire and her newbie hunter brother,” she countered with sarcasm.

“Yeah…Niklaus will never let me live that one down,” he replied with dismay. Kol was not looking forward to his brother teasing him for the next century about being nearly killed by someone like Elena.

Bonnie frowned at him. “Can you please take this seriously? You almost died tonight and you’re worrying about Klaus destroying your ego? Do you want me to slap you again?”

“Not particularly,” he muttered and rubbed his cheek again.

“Then take this seriously!”

“There is nothing to take serious, Bonnie,” he told her and placed his hands on the side of her face. “They tried to kill me and they failed. I’m okay and there is no point dwelling on what happened.” Bonnie’s hands covered his own on her face as she looked into his eyes. “I’m sorry that what happened scared you,” but another part of him was glad – it meant she still cared. “But I’m fine now,” he smiled and Bonnie’s head turned to the side slightly and laid a kiss to the palm of his hand.

“I just…I couldn’t believe what Klaus told me when he said Elena and Jeremy were trying to kill you,” she frowned. “Jeremy I get, he’s a hunter now, he has the urge all the time but Elena knows how I feel about you and she still tried to kill you.”

Kol recalled when Bonnie first came into the Gilbert kitchen before he was about to be killed. He remembered that she had used her magic to snap Elena’s neck.

“What happened after I left? When Elena woke up?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” she answered and he nodded his head, accepting her wishes.

“Where is the stake?” he asked her, remembering that she refused to let him take it.

Bonnie pulled back from him. “Safe with the one person who will never use it on you,” she answered him. “No matter how much the thought has crossed her mind.”

Kol smiled. “I am glad you still care.”

“I shouldn’t,” she said quietly, more so to herself than to Kol.

“But I’m glad you do.”

“There is also something else you should know.” That earned her a curious look from the Original in front of her. “I have decided that I don’t want them to get the cure and potentially end the world so I’ll help you stop them,” she told him.

Kol grinned and stepped closer to Bonnie. “I knew I could count on you to see sense.”

Kol came in for a kiss and it made Bonnie realised she was going to have to lay down some ground rules if they were going to work together.

“No, Kol,” she said, and placed her hand flat on his chest and pushed him back to put some space between them. “We can’t do this. I’ll work with you but only as an ally and nothing more.”

Kol chuckled before giving her a knee weakening, stomach tightening look as his hands took a hold of her waist. “Perhaps this ‘allies only’ alliance would be better off beginning first thing in the morning,” he suggested with a smirked before he leant down to press his lips to hers but she turned her head at the last second.

“I’m being serious. I didn’t come here to sleep with you, Kol,” Bonnie said firmly and got out of his grip. “You wanted me to listen to you about Silas and I did, you have me on your side with this so don’t push it.”

If Kol hadn’t made it clear enough already, he wanted Bonnie back but he also knew that after what happened between them Bonnie wasn’t looking to get back with him any time soon and he accepted that but that didn’t mean he couldn’t tempt her and he certainly would.

They would be spending a lot of time with each other if they were going to stop everyone from getting to the cure and he would take advantage of every moment he got with her.

“Okay, allies only, no funny business - you have my word,” he replied and Bonnie gave him a small but thankful smile. “Now, if you don’t mind I’m going to go take a shower because I can still feel Gilbert hands on me,” he said with a fake shudder. “You are more than welcome to join,” he looked to her and she glared.

“Don’t forget that I am in possession of the stake,” she warned.

“But you said it yourself, you’ll never use it on me,” he retorted with a charming smile.

“Believe me, with every word leaving your mouth tonight, it’s looking more and more tempting,” she muttered and moved away from Kol and removed her jacket, placing it on the bed. “So go shower before I go get it.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he replied with a wink before disappearing into the bathroom.

Bonnie waited until she could hear the shower going before she made her way downstairs in search of Klaus.

“I thought you might be interested to know that I’ve thrown up a barrier around the house, keep unwanted visitors out,” she announced as soon as she found him.

“I don’t do well with thanking people,” he responded and poured himself another drink. He needed to drink a lot of alcohol before he couldn’t even begin to comprehend how his brother had almost gotten killed by Elena and Jeremy Gilbert, two of the most incompetent people he’d come across.

“Then don’t thank me and go straight to owing me by telling me what you plan on doing with the cure,” she asked and walked further into the room. “You should know that I’m siding with Kol on this one. The cure is destroying everyone and it hasn’t even been found yet.”

Klaus chucked at that. “Kol said the exact same thing to Rebekah just yesterday.”

“Well, he’s right. Elena has turned into this completely different person and I can’t even recognize Jeremy anymore since this whole hunter thing took over and though she’ll deny it, Elena is taking complete advantage of that; Damon and Stefan have both lost it. Caroline, Tyler and Matt seem to be the only sane ones.”

At the mention of her three other friends, Bonnie realised that she would have to face them eventually about what she did and she had no idea how they would take it, especially Caroline. Tyler would usually side with Caroline on these types of things and Matt with whatever he felt was right.

Bonnie hoped that Caroline would understand why she did what she did. She didn’t want to hurt Elena but she didn’t want Elena or Jeremy to kill Kol either. She’d much rather Elena be temporarily dead than Kol be permanently dead. As horrible as that sounds.

“You think your friends would side with you and stop Elena from getting the cure?”

“If it was the right thing to do, yes,” she nodded. Surely if those three knew the world was at stake they’d think differently. “Tyler definitely would anyway; Caroline and Matt are much closer to Elena than he is so they might not agree at first but once I explain to them what’s at stake they should come around.”

Bonnie felt horrible, she felt like she was conspiring with an enemy against her friend but she couldn’t let Elena get to the cure (or kill the vampire Bonnie loves to do it) if it meant kick starting the end of the world.

And Damon doesn’t believe in Silas and if he doesn’t then Elena definitely wouldn’t. Even if Bonnie walked in there with proof, Elena still wouldn’t if Damon didn’t.

The sire bond had really begun to get on Bonnie’s nerves.

“But none of that answers my question,” she said to Klaus, still wanting him to answer her about his intentions with the cure. Somehow she didn’t think it was what he had been telling them. “What do you plan on doing with the cure?”

“My plan for the cure, Miss Bennett was to destroy it,” he said and finished the rest of his drink. “I planned to kill you all the second I found it.”

“But I thought you wanted Elena human so you could make your hybrids?” she questioned him and sat on the chair across from him, choosing to ignore the second part of his plan for the time being.

“I don’t really care about my hybrids anymore,” he shrugged. “Forced loyalty is nothing compared to the real thing.”

“You just want to be a family again,” she guessed and Klaus nodded.

“But there is the little issue of Rebekah and her desire for the cure,” Klaus sighed. “She wants it more than anything.”

“I’m sure she’d rather have all of you to be together as a family than to be human.”

“If getting the cure meant sacrificing one of us, she would do it. She’d rather be human than be a family,” he said and Bonnie frowned. “She was willing to go against what she believed in and stick a dagger in Kol’s heart just so he wouldn’t get in her way.”

That didn’t sound like Rebekah to her, but then again Bonnie didn’t know too much about the blonde Original.

“It seems our conversation has come to an end, Miss Bennett,” Klaus said, looking upwards towards Kol’s room. He knew Bonnie only came down here to talk to him knowing that Kol couldn’t hear their conversation over the running water of the shower.

Bonnie gave the hybrid a small smile before leaving him alone in the study and made her way back to Kol’s room.

The young witch did not see or even predict Klaus’ true intentions for the cure. She honestly thought he wanted Elena to become human again so he could continue to make his hybrids but hearing him say that he wanted to destroy the cure stunned her and she still choice to ignore the little bit about him planning on killing them all the moment he found it. She’d confront him on that part later.

“Oh geez, put some clothes on,” Bonnie said to Kol as soon as she walked into the room and covered her eyes. She had walked back into his room to see him in nothing but a towel and still dripping wet from the shower.

First he was shirtless, now he’s practically naked and dripping wet…he must be trying to drive her insane.

“It’s not like you’ve never seen it before,” he grinned and moved to stand in front of her, moving her hands from her eyes. “Are you heading home?” he asked her but his hand never let go of hers and their fingers laced.

“I don’t exactly want to go home,” Bonnie said with a small laugh. “I kind of ignored my dad when I left with Klaus earlier so World War III is probably waiting for me back home.”

“Stay here then,” he said to her and she nearly laughed.

Her…stay here with Kol and Klaus? Her ex and her enemy? Yeah that sounded like a great plan.

“Somehow I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she replied. “I was thinking of going to Caroline’s. She needs to know what’s going on.”

Kol shrugged. “You can see Caroline in the morning.”

“It feels like you’re trying to get me to stay here.”

“I am,” he admitted without shame. “Besides, if the hunter tries to strike again who will save me?” he batted his eyelashes at her.

Bonnie rolled her eyes at him. “Number one, they can’t kill you because I have the stake and they will never find it and number two, they won’t even be able to get inside thanks to yours truly.”

“I don’t know if I should be feeling a little emasculated considering you have saved my life twice now,” Kol mused and Bonnie smirked.

“Yeah…you’re a real damsel in distress,” she retorted and tried not to laugh at the look that crossed his face. She had to keep going. “You’re almost as bad as Elena with all this saving and protecting I need to do.”

“I’m a little offended right now,” he responded and Bonnie gave a victorious smile. “I can’t believe you’d compare me to that insufferable little insect.”

“Hey! I might be angry at her but don’t call her names. Yes, she did something completely terrible but I still can’t throw away nearly eighteen years of friendship.”

“Please don’t tell me you are going to try and work things out with her?”

Kol couldn’t believe that Bonnie would even think about going to Elena after what happened. If the roles were reversed, Kol would have tortured and killed whoever tried to harm Bonnie. Obviously he didn’t expect that of Bonnie (she’s not as violent and sadistic as him to do so) but he didn’t want her feeling guilty for what she did and how she reacted to Elena’s actions. There was no need for her to.

 “No, of course not - not right now, anyway.  But after the whole cure debacle is settled then I’ll see,” she told him.

“You are too kind hearted for your own good, Beautiful,” he said to her and tried to pull her in for a hug but she stopped him.

“Put some clothes on,” she told him with a light laugh.

Kol gave her a pout. “But you know I don’t like sleeping with clothes on. It feels so unnatural,” he scrunched up his face with distaste.

“Says the a thousand year old vampire,” she muttered and sat on the bed.

Kol went to his drawer and pulled out a pair of black cotton boxers and one of his plain white buttoned down shirts.

“What’s this for?” Bonnie asked him when he tossed her the shirt before he slipped on the boxers under the towel.

“To sleep in,” he removed the towel from around his waist and tossed it back into the bathroom before he turned back to Bonnie. “Sleeping in skin tight jeans can’t be comfortable.”

But probably safer considering Kol’s wandering hands.

“I’m too tired to argue,” Bonnie sighed and went into the bathroom to change in private.

Bonnie knew that the last thing she should be doing right now was to sleep in the same bed as Kol and she knew that if she truly wanted to sleep somewhere else he wouldn’t stop her but she almost lost him tonight. She wanted to be as close as she could to him without crossing the line that she had drew.

Thankfully, when she exited the bathroom Kol wasn’t in the room. He’d probably gone to talk to his brother.

Bonnie went to the side of the bed that she usually slept on when she was here and pulled back the covered. After the day she’s had, she just wanted to sleep and Kol’s bed was very comfortable.

She was enjoying the peace and quiet that came with Kol’s absence from the room as she rearranged the mountain of pillows that Kol had on his bed but before she was done, Kol was back.

“What are you doing?” he questioned her and raised an eye brow at her once he returned and watched her place pillows in the middle of the bed.

“What does it look like?” she asked back without looking up at him.

“It looks like you’re reconstructing the Great Wall of China in my bedroom,” he said and Bonnie rolled her eyes at his exaggeration.

“You want me in here then you have to deal with this. I don’t care if just your hand passes this barrier, I will fry your ass,” she warned him.

“Fine, you have my word,” he promised. “I’ll keep my hands to myself.”

Somehow she didn’t believe him.

xxx

Kol couldn’t help himself…as soon as Bonnie had settled down and the lights were off, he reached over the Wall of China and poked her in the shoulder but his mischievous grin dropped when it felt like his brain erupted in flames.

“I warned you,” Bonnie reminded Kol before ceasing her assault on the Original.

“So cuddling’s out of the question?” he pouted and laid his head down on the pillow in the middle of the bed.

“Most definitely,” she replied and tried to block him out so she could get some sleep.

“Shame,” he said with a sigh, resisting the temptation to rest his hand on the curve of her hip. “I miss the way you feel in my arms.”

He may have been baiting her a bit, but he really did miss the feeling of holding her and it was hard for him not to follow through on his urges to hold her again.

“Kol, stop it,” her voice made it sound like a plea but he was making it very hard for her to stay strong and keep to her word.

“I remember the last time we were in this bed together,” Kol smiled and he let his thoughts take him back to that night.

“Okay I’m leaving,” she announced and moved the covers off of her before sitting up.

“Alright, I’m sorry, I’ll stop,” he said and sat up and reached over to stop her from getting up. “But you can’t blame me for trying,” he added with a smile.

“Why are you doing this?” she asked him softly and looked over to him.

“Because I made a massive mistake in leaving you,” he answered, turning serious. “And I want you to know that I’m going to do whatever it takes to bring you back to me.”

Bonnie gave a heavy sigh and chewed on her lip lightly before she spoke. “Kol, I’ll admit that I still love you but I can’t let myself be with you. You need to understand that I’ve never been a fan of vampires and letting myself fall for one and open up to one was hard and I just feel like all that got thrown back in my face,” she confessed to him. “And before you say it, I know I’m not exactly innocent in all this but it was never my intention to fall for you and it scared me when I knew that I was.”

Kol reached over and took her hand, bringing it to his lips. “I promise to prove to you that we are worth all this.” His eyes met hers. “I’m not ready to let you go.”

xxx

Kol couldn’t sleep no matter how hard he tried – wasn’t as if he needed it anyway. He was still reeling from nearly being killed by possibly the dumbest (definitely the dullest) siblings in the world; but it was also hard for him to sleep next to Bonnie when she had put that silly wall of pillows between them, even harder after what she had said.

He knew she was using it as some kind of veil of protection against him and he was trying so hard to respect that and not toss the pillows off the bed so he could hold her in his arms but soon enough; the pillows hit the floor when he heard Bonnie let out a choked sob.

“What’s wrong?” he asked her, his voice thick with concern as he lightly pressed up against her, one arm wrapping around her while he help his top half up by resting on his elbow.

“I killed my best friend,” she sobbed and held Kol’s hand tight to her chest.

Kol sighed. He was wondering when she’d break down about that. Kol knew that she had been running on adrenaline and now that she was relaxing and calming down, what had really happened was now beginning to hit her. “No you didn’t, she’s fine,” he tried to console her and placed a soothing kiss to her temple.

“She’s not fine; you didn’t see the look on her face when she woke up.”

“She tried to kill someone you care about, you did what you had to do,” he said and placed more kisses to her face. Personally, Kol didn’t care about Elena’s status or how she felt. He wanted the bitch dead and if she tried anything against Bonnie she would be.

“I didn’t have to snap her neck. I could have just kept her pinned down but when I looked at her I felt so much rage and I couldn’t stop myself,” she told him and let out another choked sob. “You were right, Kol I don’t have control over it, it’s too strong,” she admitted in defeat as some more tears fell.

Two people Kol now had a strong desire to murder; Elena for trying to kill him and Shane for nearly destroying Bonnie with his Expression bullshit.

“Do you want help?” he asked her and felt her nod. “Then I’ll get you some help.”

Kol didn’t know of any living witches that have dealt with Expression but there was one person who he thought would be a good support for Bonnie.

“Just close your eyes, Beautiful,” he cooed and Bonnie turned around so that her head nuzzled into his chest. “Get some sleep.”

His hand moved soothingly up and down her back to help her relax.

Kol didn’t sleep for the remainder of the night, he just laid there with Bonnie’s head on his chest, and one of his arms wrapped protectively around her and ran his fingers softly through her silky hair.

xxx

When Bonnie woke up the next morning, the first thing she felt were Kol’s hands through her hair and his lips pressing against her head. His arms were wrapped around her and their legs entangled.

“Morning, Beautiful,” he whispered softly and moved her hair away from her face. He half expected her to push him away and start repeating her boundaries talk from last night so he was surprised when she snuggled in closer to him.

“Thank you for the dream,” she said into his chest.

Bonnie knew it was his doing; there was no way she could have such a peaceful and beautiful dream after the day she had.  It was the type of dream she wouldn’t mind having every night.

“Is that place real?” she asked him as she remembered all the beautiful flowers in the field.

She felt Kol nod before he answered. “It’s in the countryside in France.”

“It’s beautiful,” she commented and pulled out of his warm embrace and sat up to lean against the headboard.

“Maybe I could take you there one day?” he suggested and sat up beside her. “We actually own some property out there.”

“Kol,” she began with a sigh but he cut her off, knowing what she was about to say.

“You don’t need to say anything, Beautiful,” he told her with a small smile. “You were upset and I gave you some comfort. I understand that you’re not ready for us to be together yet and I won’t push the matter any further,” he paused, contemplating whether or not to go into this. He decided to. “But there is something I will push and that is you getting help with this Expression magic.”

“Look, forget about what I said last night. Like you said, I was upset and I was just looking to blame what I did on something else and Expression was the best option,” she tried to convince him but he didn’t believe her.

Bonnie got out of bed but Kol was in front of her before she knew it.

“You admitted that you didn’t have control over it and that you wanted help, why change your mind now?”

Bonnie didn’t have a good answer to give so she gave in.

“Fine but before we do anything with that can I please handle this thing with my friends first? I need to explain to them what is going on and why I went all homicidal on my best friend.”

“As long as you promise me that you will accept the help that I get you.”

Bonnie nearly rolled her eyes at his persistence to get her some help. “Okay, fine,” she agreed and pulled out some clothes that she had left here since her last visit.

“I’ll be downstairs so come down when you’re ready,” he said to her before she disappeared into the bathroom.

Kol grabbed his cell phone off the table besides his bed and left the room to make a call.

xxx

“You made me breakfast?” Bonnie questioned Kol when she walked into the kitchen to see food laid out all over the counter.

“Uh…sure,” he shrugged with a grin.

“Liar,” Klaus muttered from the other side of the kitchen.

“You made me breakfast?” she directed her question to Klaus this time. She didn’t see him when she first came in. “So you paint and you cook? Do you have a cute little ‘ _Kiss the Cook’_ apron too?”

Bonnie could actually see Klaus in one of those aprons, and the visual was quite entertaining for her.

“Count your blessings that I’m not allowed to harm you, Bonnie,” Klaus smirked and Kol glared at him.

“I’d like to see you try. I took him to the floor pretty easy,” she said and pointed to Kol.

“Well that’s not an accomplishment. Elena and Jeremy Gilbert nearly took him out,” Klaus responded with a shrug.

“I guess your right…” she agreed with a fake sigh.

“Do you two mind?” Kol glared. “I nearly died last night and you’re here making jokes about it,” he pouted and Bonnie rolled her eyes at him remembering that last night he was the one making the jokes.

“Anyway, thank you Klaus,” she said to the hybrid and began to fill her plate up with food while she listened to the Original brother’s talk about the cure and what they planned to do about Rebekah.

“You can’t dagger her!” Bonnie cried out when she heard what they were thinking of doing.

“We might not have a choice,” Klaus said.

“Let me talk to her,” Bonnie suggested but Kol shook his head.

“Trust me, darling that will not work,” he replied.

“Well I’m going to anyway,” she ignored him. “But I have to deal with Matt and Caroline first,” she said and stood up.

“Are you going to do that now?” Kol asked her and she nodded. “I’ll come with you.”

“I’d rather you not,” she stated but it fell on deaf ears as Kol began to lead her to his car.

xxx

“I still don’t understand why you have to come with me,” Bonnie sighed with annoyance as Kol parked the car in the parking lot of the _Mystic Grill_.

She had planned to talk to her friends today to tell them what had happened and how she had planned to side with Kol about Silas and the cure and Bonnie thought the whole thing would go down better without Kol lurking around.

“I told you that I was going to protect you and I have every intention of doing just that,” he replied and shut off the car.

“They are my friends, Kol I don’t need protecting from them,” she tried to tell him.

“I don’t trust them,” he muttered and laid his head back against the head rest.

“And they don’t trust you,” she countered. “If you’re there, they’re just going to think you’ve brainwashed me.”

“Because God forbid you can make a decision on your own accord.”

Bonnie sighed. “It’s not Elena or the Salvatore’s I’m seeing, it’s Matt. He’s always respected me and my decisions even if he’s completely against them.”

Surprisingly that didn’t make Kol feel any better. He hated Matt as much as he hated the rest of them but for different reasons. Kol believed Bonnie when she told him that Matt respected her and he knew that Bonnie respected Matt just as much. Kol felt like a pathetic fool for thinking it, but he couldn’t help but feel a little threatened of the human boy. If anyone was able to talk Bonnie out of this, he believed it to be Matt.

That’s why he wanted to go in with her.

“How about we compromise, you can come in but you can’t be with me when I talk to him?” she suggested. “I get that you want to keep me safe and I really appreciate that but if you keep going on like this I will have to stick a dagger in your heart just to get some time to myself.”

It had only been a few hours but she felt like she was being suffocated. She knew he meant well but she needed him to back up a bit. If he was going to be like this from now on, she’d scream.

“Fine; you go talk to Matt and I’ll get a drink,” he agreed. Alcohol would probably make this whole thing easier.

The two of them got out of the car and headed towards the grill, Kol opening the door and let Bonnie enter first.

Bonnie spotted Matt as soon as she entered. Matt sent her a warm smile but it faded as soon as he saw Kol beside her. Bonnie waved him over.

“Hey, Bon,” he greeted her and sent a cautious look to the Original next to her.

“Hey,” she smiled. “Do you have time to talk?”

Matt nodded and motioned for Bonnie to follow him.

“Please don’t tell me you’ve gotten back with him,” Matt sighed as they sat in one of the booths. The quarterback didn’t really care if the Original could hear him over at the bar.

“No, I’m not,” she said. “I’m just working with him.”

That caught Matt’s attention. “With what?” he asked.

“I’m not going to let them get to the cure,” she told him.

“But Elena –“ Matt started but Bonnie cut him off.

“Is perfectly fine as a vampire, Matt,” she said and he just blinked.

“She is not fine as a vampire, Bonnie she is a completely different person.”

_Or maybe the real Elena is beginning to surface…_

“Once the sire bond between her and Damon is broken, then things will start to work out but I can’t let them get to the cure,” Bonnie stated. “And what are the odds that Elena would stay human if she turned back? You know she’ll never give up Damon and Stefan.”

“Are these his words or yours?” Matt questioned and motioned to the Original up at the bar who was listening to their entire conversation. “It’s not like you to just turn your back on Elena.”

“These are my words, Matt and I’m not turning my back on her” she said, her voice firm. “There is more to it. The cure is buried with Silas and he is prophesied to bring the end of the world so would you rather we potentially destroy the entire world just to turn Elena back to human?”

Matt let out a heavy sigh as he listened to Bonnie. He didn’t know much about Silas, only what had been relayed to him from what Professor Shane had said and none of it seemed too spooky to Matt but he didn’t know anything about the end of the world.

“Shane never said anything about end of time.”

“Shane is crazy and there is a lot of things he failed to tell us,” she retorted with a frown. “He knew what Silas was and would do and he didn’t care. Kol knows and he wants to stop it and so do I and unfortunately getting the cure means potentially unleashing Silas and we can’t let that happen.”

“And how does Kol know all this?”

“He knew some witches who were against Silas and then some Silas worshippers so believe me when I say he knows more about Silas than Shane does.”

“And you just trust him on this?” Matt asked and Bonnie frowned at his tone.

“I do,” she said with a nod.

“So much that you were willing to snap your best friend’s neck?” Bonnie flinched at Matt’s tone.

“So Elena told you that bit but nothing else?” she shot back, remembering that Matt seemed genuinely surprised when she told him she had pulled out for the race for the cure.

“She said you choice Kol over her.”

“Like she choice Damon and Stefan over me, Caroline and you countless times?”

“Bon, I’m not judging you – I’m just telling you what she told us,” he said and reached over to cover her hand in a comforting manner.

“Us?”

“She called a meeting this morning, we were all there,” he told her.

“How did Caroline take it?” Bonnie didn’t give a damn what the Salvatore’s thought of her, but she did about Caroline. She couldn’t handle the blonde hating her.

“She wants to talk to you – get your side of the story,” Matt said and Bonnie was grateful that Caroline wasn’t just going with Elena’s word, she wanted Bonnie’s too.

“I plan on seeing her soon and telling her what I’ve told you,” she said to Matt and he nodded, agreeing that she should do that. Bonnie was about to say something when Matt interrupted.

“Oh, geez,” he muttered, looking towards the entrance of the grill. “Damon’s here and he’s coming this way.”

Bonnie eyes went straight to Kol and saw that he was already making his way over to them. That gave her a bit of relief. Damon was actually the one person she didn’t want to face.

“What the hell were you thinking, Bonnie?” Damon demanded as soon as he reached them. “Attacking Elena like that?”

“Damon, just back off,” Matt said and stood up from the booth.

Damon just looked at Matt like he was nothing before he turned back to Bonnie. “No, I want to know what the HELL was going through her head when she SNAPPED Elena’s neck.”

Kol’s hand came down on Damon’s shoulder and squeezed hard enough to break the bone. “Talk to her like that again and I promise you that I will kill you,” he threatened and pushed Damon out of the way.

“You should be dead right now,” Damon growled to Kol who only smirked in the younger vampire’s face.

“I’m sorry to disappoint but here I am, alive and well,” he quipped and felt Bonnie stand behind him.

“Not for much longer,” Damon gritted.

“And what do you plan to do, Salvatore? The only weapon that can kill me is in the possession of the lovely witch behind me and not even I know where she hid it.”

“We’ll get the cure, we don’t need Bonnie to find it when Professor Shady already knows its location and when we get it, I’ll force it down your goddamn throat and kill you myself,” Damon growled and Kol chuckled.

“By all means go to Shane and get the location, it’ll still get you nowhere. Bonnie is the only one who can do the spell, mate. Without her the cure is just going to rot in the ground with Silas,” Kol smirked.

Damon was seething as he looked over Kol’s shoulder towards Bonnie. “I can’t believe you would do this. I was the one that helped you through what he did to you. He was the one that hurt you and we were the ones that picked up the pieces.”

Kol growled and was about to say something but Bonnie beat him to it.

“I wouldn’t have even been in this situation in the first place if it weren’t for you and Stefan. I wanted nothing to do with this but you two made me do this.”

“We didn’t think you were stupid enough to actually fall for him,” he spat out and if it weren’t for Bonnie’s hand on Kol’s arm, the Original would have kicked the crap out of Damon then and there while Matt just looked like he wanted to kill the blue-eyed vampire for what he said.

“Kol, let’s just go,” Bonnie said and tugged on his arm. “Matt, I’ll talk to you later,” she said to her friend before leaving with Kol.

Kol led Bonnie out of the grill and made sure Damon didn’t follow. “Are you alright?” he asked her as soon as they reached his car. He knew what Damon said had gotten to her – it was why he got her out of there in the first place.

She nodded. “Fine,” she answered rather unconvincedly.

“Don’t let what he said get to you. He’s just trying to guilt you into going back to them,” he said.

“No, I know that,” she replied and pushed some hair out of her face.  “But he’s right, Shane knows where the cure is, he can lead them to it.”

“That doesn’t matter, darling,” he told her. “Remember that you are the only one who can get the cure. You are the only one who can do the spell. It would take Shane months – years even to teach another witch Expression. It took him months to prepare it for you and he only got to you so quick because you were vulnerable and he took advantage of that.”

“But if you’re really worried about Shane I can kill him, that’s not an issue,” he added and Bonnie blinked, not able to tell if he was being serious or not. He sounded serious.

“No killing anybody,” she told him.

“But he can’t be compelled well, I guess I could rip out his tongue,” he mused and Bonnie look horrified.

“Shane is crazy and I hate that he’s been using me this whole time but no killing and no maiming.”

“Bonnie, the situation we are in now is life or death, kill or be killed. I understand that you don’t want to hurt anyone and you don’t have to, I will handle those bits myself but you need to understand that having to possibly torture and kill people is a given in a situation like this,” he tried to explain to her. “And is it really any different from what the Salvatore’s have done even when you worked alongside them? How many hybrids, vampires, witches, werewolves and humans have lost their lives at their hands just to further their own goals?”

Bonnie sighed and chewed on her lower lip. She knew he had a point. “I get that, I do. I guess its cause I’m now on a different side to them and I don’t want them to get hurt and I certainly don’t want to be the one to hurt them.”

“Unless they get in our way, we won’t touch them,” Kol told her to try and ease her mind but he knew they would have to eventually. They were now on opposite sides after all. But when the time came, he would handle it.

xxx

Kol drove Bonnie back to the mansion after the grill and after making a quick stop at her house for some things she would need if she were going to stay at the mansion for however long.

They decided that it would be safer for her to be there then at her house where all the vampires of the Mystic Falls Gang had full access to. At least at the mansion she had Kol and Klaus to keep an eye on her and get rid of unwanted visitors.

“Is your dad going to be okay with it?” Kol had asked her after they left her house and Bonnie shrugged.

“He’s not okay with anything I do at the moment, but when I tell him that it’s for the best and were I will be safer, he’ll understand. I hope.”

Her dad wasn’t there when she had gotten there (something she was very thankful for) but she left a note and she would ring him later on to tell him.

“Is Elijah back?” Bonnie asked as soon as they arrived back at the mansion and she saw Elijah’s car parked out the front.

“Yeah, I called him this morning,” Kol answered her as he parked the car and got out, speeding around to open her door.

“Why?” she asked and they walked through the front doors and Bonnie stopped dead in her tracks.

“He brought you some help,” Kol smirked at the figure in front of them while Bonnie stared at her in shock.

“Lucy?”


	28. Change of Plan

Bonnie Bennett stood in front of her cousin, still in surprise by her sudden appearance back and Mystic Falls and her arrival with Elijah. But most of all, Bonnie felt a sense of guilt wash over her as she stared at her cousin. She felt terrible for the way she treated Lucy before she left (before she made her leave). Bonnie acted like a grade A bitch towards her cousin and honestly, she thought she’d never see her again.

“What are you doing here?” she asked Lucy, still in a bit of shock at the sudden reappearance of her cousin.

Lucy shrugged and gave Bonnie a grin. “Like your boy said, I’m here to help.”

_Your boy?_

Since when did Lucy start being so fine with idea of her and Kol?

Bonnie studied to closeness between her cousin and Elijah who stood beside her, only a very tiny space between them. Bonnie narrowed her eyes. What had her cousin been up to since she left Mystic Falls?

“You called her?” Bonnie turned her attention to Kol after she decided to confront Lucy over Elijah later on in private.

“You said you wanted help, so I got you some,” he answered her as he began to steer her out of the foyer and towards the study; Lucy and Elijah following close behind them.

“But why?” she couldn’t help but ask. She thought Lucy would be the last person Kol would want around considering she was the initial reason he left.

“Well unfortunately I don’t know of any living witches who have dabbled in Expression,” he made sure to put emphasis on ‘living’ before continuing. “But I figured if you wanted help with this, you’d react better to someone you already know. Someone you trust.”

The four of them sat around the study, Kol sitting next to Bonnie on the two-seater while Lucy and Elijah took the chairs across from them.

“Do you know about Expression?” she turned to Lucy and asked, the older Bennett nodded her head.

“I know of it, never practiced it, never wanted to and kind of pissed that you have gotten involved with it,” she responded. “How could you get involved with something like that, Bonnie?”

“I had no other choice,” Bonnie answered with a frown. “I couldn’t do traditional magic anymore and I needed my powers.”

“Why can’t you do normal magic?” Lucy asked, both concerned and curious.

Bonnie turned to Kol. “You didn’t tell her?”

“I only spoke to Elijah,” he told her and nodded towards his brother. “He’s the one that got in contact with Lucy.”

“I thought you may want to discuss the details with your cousin yourself,” Elijah spoke to Bonnie.

“I was only told that you had gotten yourself into a bit of trouble and needed some help of the magical and family variety,” Lucy interjected before standing up. “So you and I are going out and you are going to tell me every little thing that has happened since I left.”

When Elijah handed Lucy the keys to his car, Bonnie shot a look to Kol as if to say ‘what the hell is going on there?’ and he just shrugged his shoulders in response.

Bonnie sighed and stood up to join Lucy who was now waiting by the doorway, waiting for her to follow.

“I’ll see you later,” she said to both Originals in the room before leaving with her cousin.

“You’re having sex with her aren’t you?” Kol smirked to his oldest brother as soon as the two Bennett witches left.

Kol had known Elijah kept in contact with Lucy but he had not known to what degree but seeing them in the same room together, he just knew.

“Kol,” Elijah sighed in exasperation at his younger brother.

“What?” Kol gave his brother an innocent look.

“It is really none of your business, dear brother,” Elijah told him before he rose from his seat to pour himself and Kol a drink.

“I’ll just take that as a yes,” Kol winked.

“And what of you and Bonnie?” Elijah turned the topic onto Kol. “I see she is actually letting you be around her,” he said and handed his brother a drink before he took a sip of his own. “A much better response then you were expecting.”

“She gave ma a few slaps, a few broken bones and some agonising pains in the head but I think we’re making progress,” Kol replied and leant back in his seat. “At least she took in what I told her about Silas.”

“Though it can’t be easy for you to be around her without being with her,” Elijah responded and Kol gave a shrug before taking a drink of his alcohol.

“Being with her without being with her will just have to do for now,” he replied.

“For now?” Elijah questioned with a raised brow that brought a smirk to Kol’s lips.

“Brother, Bonnie and I will be together again – there is no doubt about that in my mind and I know she knows it too. I just have to be patient with her, give her time,” he answered to Elijah.

xxx

“Why did you bring me here?” Bonnie asked Lucy as they stood outside the old abandoned witch house.

After what they did to her Grams, and how she defied them to do Expression magic, going to the home of the Spirits was the last place Bonnie would rather be. She’d rather stay the night at the boarding house with Damon’s insulting lectures and Stefan’s disappointed looks then go inside that old house.

“I thought it would be a good place to talk,” Lucy answered her and Bonnie scoffed.

“They’ll probably smite me the moment I step inside,” she replied and eyed the house with caution and dismay. “I doubt they are happy with what I’ve been up to,” she muttered.

“Then we will stay out here,” Lucy compromised then turned to face her younger cousin. “So what exactly have you been up to?”

“I don’t even know where to start,” Bonnie sighed and looked around her surroundings.

“The beginning is always a good place,” Lucy suggested. “Just tell me what happened that pissed those scorned witches off so bad.”

“I tried to stop Elena from transitioning into a vampire,” she told Lucy and watched as her face dropped and her eyes widened.

“You tried to do what?”

“I know it was stupid but I had to do something,” Bonnie responded but Lucy just shook her head at her.

“What made you think that you could even do a spell like that? That is some seriously dark mojo there Bonnie. How did you even know about it?”

“I found an old journal of my mother’s,” Bonnie told Lucy. “She talked a lot about dark magic and the spell she was planning to use to put the Original’s father down. I used the exact same spell on Klaus a few months ago.”

“Oh God, B,” Lucy sighed. She knew what a spell like that entailed, and the key ingredient to do it. “Please tell me you didn’t kill anyone doing it.”

“No! Of course not,” Bonnie replied quickly with wide eyes. “Jeremy wanted to help and he had his ring so he came back.”

“So that was your first taste,” Lucy stated and Bonnie nodded. “You liked the way it made you feel, didn’t you?” she nodded again, this time with a shameful look on her face. “And doing that made you think you could somehow prevent Elena from turning…”

Lucy really couldn’t believe the mess that her cousin had gotten herself into, and she wasn’t even half done telling her everything that had happened. She still had losing her powers and her introduction into Expression to go…

“It’s such a long story but basically I did a spell that pissed off the Spirits and they retaliated against me by targeting Grams,” she confessed to Lucy, her voice softening at the mention of Grams.

“What do you mean they targeted Grams?”

“They used her as a way to keep me in line. I couldn’t use magic anymore without having flashes of Grams in pain but I needed my magic and but I couldn’t let them hurt Grams so I didn’t know what to do.”

Bonnie could feel the tears beginning to form from behind her eyes but she willed them away.

“I got a call one day, from the guy that used to work with Grams, Shane. He teaches her classes now at the university and he said he had some of her old stuff still in his office and thought that I might have wanted them so I visited him and he knew what I was, what Grams was. He said he could help, that there was another way of practising magic with having the worry about the Spirits monitoring my every move.”

“So you just blindly trusted this total stranger?”  Lucy questioned, incredulous that her cousin would just trust some stranger so suddenly.

“Grams trusted him so I thought I could too,” Bonnie answered with an ashamed frown. She felt so stupid. “And he knew a lot about witchcraft and I needed to know more and know another way of practicing without hurting Grams.”

Lucy sighed. “Why didn’t you call me? Why did you go to some mortal stranger instead of your witch cousin?”

Bonnie gave a dry laugh. “After the way I treated you I figured the last thing I should do is ask you for more help.”

“Family helps family, Bonnie no matter what,” Lucy responded. “And at least I would not have introduced you to the most dangerous magic there is.”

“Everyone keeps saying it’s dangerous but I don’t see why,” Bonnie gave a shrug. “I just need to gain a little more control over it and then I’ll be good.”

“You realise that I am not here to help you master Expression?”

“Then why are you here?”

“To help rid you of it and help you get your regular magic back,” Lucy told her.

“No I can’t go back to regular magic,” Bonnie shook her head at Lucy. “I just need to get a handle of Expression and then everything will get back to normal.”

Lucy rolled her eyes at her cousin’s stubbornness. “Don’t you get it? There is no ‘getting a handle of Expression’, there isn’t. One second you will be in control of it and the next you’ll be dead.” Lucy paused before continuing. “I don’t know anyone who has done Expression, but I know someone who has lost someone to it.”

“Who?” Bonnie asked but Lucy shook her head.

“That’s not important,” she said dismissively before continuing. “What is important is you understanding that there is no controlling this.”

“Then what am I supposed to do? I can’t do regular magic, I can’t do this magic.”

“We will get your normal magic back, we just need to clear your mind of what that professor has been teaching you and then we will go from there,” Lucy said.

Bonnie gave a sigh. All this just sounded like too much trouble to her but she nodded her head anyway.

“You want to head back? Lucy asked her and Bonnie gave another nod and they started to head back to where Lucy parked the car.

“Can I apologise for being a bitch back when I asked you to leave?” Bonnie asked Lucy and chewed on her lip as they reached the car.

“You may,” Lucy replied with a slight smirk and opened the car door.

“Well, I’m really sorry for how I treated you. I know you were only trying to look out for me and I appreciate that and even though I wish you didn’t go straight to Kol, I am sorry for being a bitch and making you leave,” she apologised with sincerity and Lucy gave her a smile.

“And I’m sorry for between you and Kol, and I regret that I did but I was just trying to make sure that you had a future,” Lucy responded. “But I was wrong to do that and I see that.”

“I’ll forgive you if you forgive me,” Bonnie suggested with a cheeky smile.

“Deal,” Lucy replied and gave her cousin a quick hug before they both got in the car.

The ride back to the mansion they filled with small talk and caught up on what Lucy had been up to and Bonnie finally asked her the question that had been weighing on her mind the moment she saw Lucy.

“So what’s up with you and Elijah?” she asked with a curious look. “Does he have something to do with your sudden change of tone towards me and Kol?” she added with a sly smirk.

“Our first encounter was pure coincidence – I was visiting a friend in New Orleans and I bumped into him,” Lucy told Bonnie who urged her to continue. “We got to talking, had a few drinks and the next thing I knew…” she trailed off but Bonnie got the gist.

“You hypocrite!” she chided playfully. “Scolding me for being with a vampire but jumping into bed with one yourself.”

“I’m older and wiser so it’s okay for me,” Lucy defended herself with a sly grin and Bonnie let out a laugh.

“So are you two together or something?”

Lucy shook her head. “Not in the traditional sense but in some weird, twisted way – yes,” she answered. “Are you and Kol…?”

“Back together?” she finished for her and Lucy nodded. “No,” she answered and shook her head. “I told him that I’m not ready to be with him again after what happened.”

“Do you want to be with him?”

Bonnie thought about Lucy’s question for a moment. Bonnie admitted the she wanted to be around Kol and she did miss being with him but did she want to get back with him? Half of her wanted to but the other half didn’t – she didn’t want to risk getting hurt again.

“B?” Lucy got her attention after she was silent for a few minutes. “You still with me?”

“I think there are a few things Kol and I will have to work through if we give a relationship another go,” she answered Lucy’s question.

“Well I think it’s great you’re using your head in this but that doesn’t really answer my question; do you want to be with him?”

“I do,” she answered. “I want to try an actual relationship with him, one without lies, secrets and ulterior motives.”

“But not yet?”

“With all this stuff going on, I don’t think now is the best time.”

Bonnie felt like she was at war with one of her closet friends and with the possible end of the world looming over them, trying to figure out a relationship just didn’t seem like top priority to Bonnie right now.

It wasn’t too much longer later when they pulled back into the Mikaelson mansion. The older witch parked the car and she and Bonnie climbed out.

“Are you coming inside?” Lucy asked Bonnie when she noticed Bonnie wasn’t following her.

Bonnie shook her head. “I think I’m going to go see Caroline. I planned to talk to her today.”

The older Bennett witch looked to one of the windows of the mansion, her eyes meeting with Elijah’s. He gave her a quick nod of the head before disappearing.

“Okay then,” Lucy responded and watched Bonnie head to her car, pulling her keys out of her bag. “Call me if you need anything,” she called as Bonnie hopped into her car.

Lucy waited for Bonnie to pull out before making her way inside the mansion and walked into the study where she threw herself down on the seat next to Kol, stealing his drink and downing the rest of it - much to the Original’s dismay.

“By all means, help yourself,” he mumbled.

“I think you and I need to pay a little visit to a certain professor,” Lucy said and handed the now empty glass back to Kol.

“Where’s Bonnie?” he asked her.

“She has gone to see Caroline but before you get your protective panties all in a twist, Elijah is keeping an eye on her,” Lucy answered him. “So it’s best to go do this now while she is distracted.”

“And what exactly do you have in mind for the dear professor?”

Lucy shrugged. “Whatever makes him squeal,” Lucy gave Kol a smirk when she saw the look he was giving her. “I’m not like Bonnie, I’m not as kind hearted as her. Bonnie told me about the cure and about Silas and about how she is the only one who can perform the spell and I know that that spell will kill her and I don’t care what I have to do, I will make sure she will never have to do that spell.”

“One of the reasons I called for you and not anyone else,” Kol replied.

Kol knew that Lucy would have just as much drive to keep Bonnie safe as he did. That’s why he wanted her to come back in the first place. Bonnie is her cousin and Kol knew there wouldn’t be anything Lucy wouldn’t do to keep Bonnie safe.

xxx

Bonnie parked her car outside of Caroline’s house – she stayed inside her car for a few moments, mentally preparing herself for Caroline’s reaction before she opened her car door and got out of the car.

Before the young witch had even reached the front door, Caroline had swung it open – a indescribable expression on her face.

“Please tell me you are here to tell me what the hell is going on,” Caroline stated as soon as Bonnie got close enough to the blonde vampire. “Because I have no freaking clue and I know Elena wasn’t telling us the whole story.”

_Clearly._

Caroline stepped aside to allow Bonnie to enter and the blonde led her to the living room, both of them taking a seat on the couch.

“Spill it, Bennett,” Caroline said. “What happened that made you go all psycho witch on your oldest friend?”

Bonnie’s eyed narrowed as she looked to Caroline. “You don’t know what she tried to do?”

“She said to me that she and Jeremy were trying to dagger Kol so the compulsion on Damon would be removed,” she told Bonnie. “And I get that you still have feelings for the maniac but is the dagger in the heart that big that you had to go all homicidal on Jeremy and Elena?”

“She told you that she was just trying to dagger Kol?” Caroline nodded and Bonnie laughed, “I can’t believe that. She tried to kill him, Caroline with the White Oak stake. Daggering him was far from her mind when I walked in.”

Bonnie couldn’t believe that Elena had actually tried to make herself the victim in this. She believed that Elena had understood what Bonnie had told her that night before she left but clearly she didn’t.

“Oh, Bonnie,” Caroline sighed with a frown. “I guess now what you did makes more sense,” she added in a light tone.

“I know what I did to Elena was wrong but walking in there and seeing her and Jeremy nearly kill Kol...it just freaked me out and I just reacted without thinking.”

“Matt told me that you came to the grill yesterday with Kol…so are you back with him? Matt said you weren’t but…” she trailed off.

“I wasn’t lying, I’m not back with him,” Bonnie responded and Caroline nodded, believing her. “What else did Matt tell you?” she asked, just curious to how much Caroline knew.

“Not much,” she shrugged. “Just that you were planning to see me, you were hanging around Kol again who is being awfully protective and that there was something about the cure,” Caroline told Bonnie.

Bonnie nodded and bit down on her lip, wondering where she should start. “Okay, Kol and I are together but not in the romantic sense.”

“Not yet anyway,” Caroline jumped in with a smirk while Bonnie just rolled her eyes and continued.

“Anyway, Kol came to me the other night and he told me more about the cure and how it is buried with the immortal being, Silas,” Bonnie proceeded to tell Caroline about Silas and the alleged prophecy about the end of the world and how she had decided to team up with Kol to make sure Silas is never risen which means the cure will remained buried in the ground.

“Wow,” Caroline gaped once Bonnie was done. “And Shane never told anyone just how dangerous Silas is?”

“Shane is the mayor of Crazy Town and he worships Silas,” Bonnie answered. “So to be honest, I’m not surprised he didn’t tell us all the gory details and focused more on the cure.”

“Oh, Elena and the Salvatore’s not to mention Rebekah who is now suddenly involved are all pissed that you’ve suddenly switched sides,” Caroline stated and Bonnie sighed.

“And what about everyone else?”

“To be honest, Tyler doesn’t really care – he wants nothing to do with the cure- Matt and I are kind of on the sidelines, we’re a little torn and Jeremy and just stoic as ever right now. Like he just wants to kill something which worries me because I am what he’s itching to kill,” Caroline explained with a little laugh on the end.

“I hope you know that I’m not here to try and get you to switch sides, I just thing you should know both sides of the story and what the risks of finding the cure would be,” Bonnie stated and Caroline nodded.

“I know that,” she said with a small smile. “So do you have any super-secret place to be or can you hang out here for the rest of the day?” she asked and her smile brightened.

“I have nowhere to be and to be honest, I need to get away from the Original testosterone,” she replied with a giggle.

“Wait back up…you are staying at their mansion?”

Bonnie slowly nodded. “We thought it’d be safer.”

“We or Kol?” Caroline questioned and narrowed her eyes.

“Both,” Bonnie admitted. “I know it’s stupid and probably weak and pathetic but after three months without him and seeing him almost die, I just want to be close to him,” she confessed to her friend. “And Kol just wants to protect me, mostly from Elena and the Salvatore’s.”

“But you’re not getting back with him?” Caroline asked her and Bonnie shook her head.

“No. I’m not ready to get back in a relationship with him,” she answered. “There is still a lot that we need to work through but I just want to get this cure and Silas deal over with before I even think about getting back with him.”

“Well you two are going to be spending a lot of time with each other by the sounds of it and who knows how long it will be before all this is over. You two can’t just work together so closely for so long and not talk about what happened,” Caroline said.

“We have spoken a little about it and I told him that I still loved him but that I’m also not ready to be with him,” she revealed.

“That’s a start,” Caroline smiled. “So enough about all this cure, Silas and Original teaming talk and more chocolate, popcorn and Channing Tatum,” Caroline gave a sly grin to her friend who couldn’t help but laugh.

xxx

It took Kol Mikaelson all of thirty seconds to rip the door off the cell and throw it to the side and grabbing a hold of Shane and disappearing before any of the cops knew what was happening and ten minutes later, Kol was throwing him to the cold, hard ground of the basement beneath the mansion with Lucy standing behind him.

“I was wondering how long it’d be before I came across you again,” Shane groaned and attempted to sit up but Kol kicked him back to the ground. “I see you have a friend with you,” he commented once he caught sight of Lucy.

“Not exactly friend more like an ally with a mutual goal,” Lucy corrected Shane and stepped forward.

“Let me guess, to prevent Silas from rising?”

Lucy smirked down at the professor. “Not quite. More like the young witch you have been messing with.”

Shane studied Lucy for a quick moment before a smirk of his own crossed his lips. “You must be Lucy. Bonnie told me quite a bit about you.”

“She told me quite a bit about you too and I got to say, none of it has made me not want to kill you.”

“Trust me when I tell you, you don’t want to do that,” Shane rushed out before Kol got his hands on him.

“Trust me when I tell you that I really want to do that,” Kol retorted with a threatening smirk as he knelt down next to Shane.

“Because it is in Bonnie’s best interest that I remain alive,” he said and Kol looked to Lucy before he turned back to Shane.

“And why is that?” he questioned.

“Bonnie is a one of a kind witch – she is a prodigy,” Shane began. “She is a decedent of Quetsiya and has all that power at her fingertips. With my guidance and help, she can be one of the most powerful witches of all time but without it…” Shane trailed off.

“Without it?” Lucy pushed.

“Well…let’s just say without my help, it won’t be long until the power completely takes over her – destroying her.”

“Why don’t I believe you?” Kol mused as he took a knife from his jacket pocket and twirled it around his fingers. “Right now you’ll say anything to keep yourself alive.”

“As true as that may be, I am being honest,” Shane responded, eyeing the knife in the Original’s hand with caution. “I am the only one that can control her.”

Shane suddenly let out a blood curdling scream as Lucy used her powers to snap his wrist. Kol looked up approvingly while Shane held his wrist close to him, trying his hardest not to let out any more pained cries in front of the two supernaturals standing (and kneeling) before him.

“What did you do to her?” Lucy questioned and her expression darkened as she stared down the professor, demanding an answer.

“I did nothing,” he said and neither Lucy nor Kol believed him.

“If you say you are the only one who can control her then you obviously did something,” Lucy said and Kol broke Shane’s other wrist for good measure.

“Hypnosis,” he gritted out through the pain. “Expression can be tricky and I knew I’d need a way to control her if she ever lost control so I used hypnosis to get inside her head.” He looked up at Lucy and Kol. “If she loses control again, I am the only one who can talk her down from it. I didn’t do it to control her I did it to help her.”

Kol looked up at Lucy who nodded towards the door. He stood up and followed her outside the cellar, locking it behind him.

“We can’t kill him if he’s the only one who can deal with her control issues. It would be dangerous for Bonnie,” she said, keeping her voice quiet so Shane would not hear.

“Then we keep him alive and down here until we can find a way to get rid of the Expression magic,” Kol replied. “I can still torture him though?”

Lucy rolled her eyes. “Do whatever the hell you want with him just don’t kill him because we need him.”

Kol smirked and began to play with the knife he still held in his hand. There was a lot he planned to do with that knife.

xxx

Bonnie left Caroline’s house later that night after feeling much better than she had in the last few days but her good mood instantly disappeared when she saw Elena waiting by her car.

“What are you doing here?” she asked the doppelganger.

“I came to see Caroline but saw your car, I figured we should talk so I waited for you to come out,” she answered and walked towards Bonnie.

“How long have you been here?”

“Not long,” Elena answered. “I just thought that I’d let you and Caroline spend some time together.”

“Oh how kind of you,” Bonnie responded with sarcasm. “Especially when I hear that you didn’t tell Caroline the full story like how you have every intention to kill Kol permanently even though you know perfectly well how I felt for him.”

Elena sighed and looked to the floor for a few seconds before looking back to Bonnie. “I’m sorry,” she muttered but Bonnie just rolled her eyes.

“I actually thought you would have understood where I was coming from with what I said to you before I left but obviously not,” Bonnie said. “I don’t understand why you just told Caroline you planned to dagger Kol instead of killing him but everyone else knew the truth.”

“I already have you mad at me, I didn’t want to lose Caroline too.”

“But you’d be okay with me losing her?”

“No, of course not!”

“Then why not tell her the truth?”

Elena remained silent.

“I love you, Elena, you have been my best friend my whole life and I don’t know if you understand how much this is killing me, this feeling like I’m turning against you but I need you to know that I’m not. I’m just trying to do right by the rest of the world and I hate how much our friendship is suffering because of that,” Bonnie tried to explain to Elena. “I just hope that after all this is over that we can go back to being friends because I can’t imagine not having you in my life.”

“The only way this can be over, Bonnie is if we get the cure and then everything will go back to normal. Whatever Kol has filled your head with is lies. He’s just trying to manipulate you and he’s succeeding.”

“He isn’t manipulating me, Elena; he’s not forcing me to do anything. It was my decision to do this,” Bonnie responded.

“The Bonnie I know wouldn’t just turn her back on her friends for some vampire,” Elena replied.

“You mean how you constantly choose Damon and Stefan over me? Over Caroline and Matt and even your own brother?” Bonnie countered. “We are the ones who have been there for you since the beginning but you barely give us the time of day anymore unless you need something from us.” Bonnie paused for a few seconds before continuing. “I am always there when you need me Elena but where were you when I needed you? I just lost my Grams for the third time and you were nowhere to be seen. None of you were.” Bonnie’s voice broke when she mentioned her Grams but she managed to hold herself together.

“I wanted to come see you Bonnie but I was still trying to deal with the transition and learn to control it. I didn’t want to risk losing control around you – you are the last person I want to lose control around,” Elena replied softly.

“But you didn’t even call me or text me. I understand you were going through a hard time too but I still made sure you were okay and tried to help you.” Bonnie saw Caroline open her front door and stand on the porch, a frown on her face. “You came here to see Care so go, we can talk some other time.” She said and before Elena could object, Caroline spoke up.

“Come on ‘Lena!” she called and waved the brunette over, understanding that Bonnie didn’t want to continue the conversation with the doppelganger. The blonde led Elena inside and gave the witch a small wave goodbye before returning back inside.

Bonnie was about to start her car but someone opened the door. It was Elijah.

“Elijah?” Bonnie asked in surprise and quickly wiped away a few stray tears. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m driving you home,” he said and held his hand out for her to take and helped her out of the car. She didn’t argue, she just walked to the other side of the car and got in.

Bonnie didn’t exactly want to return back to the mansion and to Kol and Lucy but that is where Elijah was heading and she couldn’t be bothered to tell him otherwise. Elijah said nothing the entire way there and she was grateful for that, she didn’t want to talk about it. She just wanted to be alone.

Elijah soon parked her car outside the mansion and she got out and made her way to the door. Bonnie bypassed everyone and headed straight to the stairs but Kol was waiting for her up the top of the stairs.

“What happened?”

There was anger in his tone but Bonnie knew it was directed at her. Bonnie couldn’t help but throw her arms around Kol and just bury her face into the crook of his neck.

Kol’s arms wrapped tight around her, holding her to him and his hand ran comfortingly up and down her back as she cried into his neck.

“Beautiful, what happened?” he asked her again but this time his voice was much softer as he tried to soothe her.

“I spoke to Elena today,” her voice was slightly muffled by his shirt. “It didn’t exactly end well,” she sniffled and raised her head a little to look at him. One of Kol’s hands came up to wipe away her tears. “I just wish this was all over.”

She wished the cure and Silas never existed in the first place then none of this would have happened. Shane never would have contacted her, she never would have learnt Expression, Elena and Jeremy wouldn’t have tried to kill Kol, Bonnie wouldn’t have snapped Elena’s neck and everything would be normal (well as normal as things could be in Mystic Falls) but Kol would probably still be gone.

“Would you have come back if none of this was happening?” she found herself asking him.

It was certainly a challenge for Kol to stay away and yes, the only reason he returned was Silas and the possibility of it putting Bonnie in danger. But if none of this was an issue would have he returned?

“I don’t know,” he replied truthfully. “But I’m here now and I’m not going anywhere,” he promised her as his thumb stroked across her cheek and Bonnie gave a small smile.

“Good.”

xxx

Two days later -around noon- Bonnie Bennett arrived at the _Mystic Grill_ and slid into the booth across from Stefan and folded her arms on the table, waiting for the younger Salvatore to speak.

“Thank you for coming, Bonnie,” he said with a grateful smile and Bonnie nodded, not able to force a smile to her face. “Is Kol here?” he asked and looked around the grill for the Original in question but didn’t see him.

Bonnie shook her head. “Why did you call me, Stefan?” She asked him even though she knew why. It was the reason every one of them suddenly wanted to talk to her.

“Look, I’m not here to try and make you feel bad for what you did or the decision you made,” Stefan started but Bonnie cut him off.

“You’re just going to try and convince me to change my mind,” she stated and Stefan gave her a sheepish nod. “That’s not going to happen, Stefan,” Bonnie told him with a frown. “I know you want the cure and I wish you could have it and I want you to have it but I can’t risk the potential danger of raising Silas.”

Bonnie was well aware of how much Stefan hated being a vampire and how much he longed to be human again and she felt so much guilt that she was standing in the way of his true happiness but if what Kol says about Silas is in fact true, it’s not like he’ll get to enjoy that happiness if Silas destroys everything.

“Is there a chance that Kol is mistaken in this?” Stefan asked her, a little hopeful.

“Not a chance,” Bonnie heard Kol’s voice say as he suddenly appeared at their table and Bonnie rolled her eyes.

“Do you mind?” she turned to him. “If I wanted you here Kol, I would have asked you to come.”

Kol sat next to Bonnie in the booth and Bonnie turned to Stefan, an apologetic look in her eyes. This would probably go a lot smoother without Kol’s presence.

“Would you like me to tell you how I know Silas is real?” Kol asked Stefan.

“I have a feeling you’re going to whether I want to hear it or not,” Stefan quipped and Bonnie couldn’t help but let out a giggle.

“I have a very high respect for witches so I do hold what they say to a high esteem,” Kol began and Bonnie’s head snapped around to look at him. He never told her that. “Centuries ago I came across this coven of witches who were speaking of an immortal being by the name of Silas. They spoke of a prophecy in which Silas would unleash hell on earth if he were to ever be released.”

“That’s the proof you have?” Stefan questioned the Original. The youngest Salvatore thought it would be something a little more solid than just the word of a few witches. “And you believe him?” he turned to Bonnie.

“I believe that it’s not worth the risk,” she answered. “If he’s wrong he’s wrong but if he’s right then…who knows, we could all end up dead.”

Bonnie was well aware that Kol’s proof was not exactly solid but if he was so serious about this then she would be too. There wasn’t much in this world that could spook someone like Kol and the fact that this was, was alarm bell as far as Bonnie was concerned.

xxx

_B+K are here. Get S._

Rebekah exited the message from Stefan and pocketed the phone. She didn’t know how much time she would have or how long Stefan would be able to distract Bonnie and Kol so she had to act quickly.

She couldn’t sense anyone inside the mansion aside from Shane so she walked inside and quickly made her way down to the basement where her brother had locked away the professor who she soon found lying motionless but still alive on the hard concrete flooring.

Rebekah chuckled to herself; her brother really did a number on the poor professor.

Rebekah knelt down next to him and bit into her wrist and held it to his mouth, she needed him alive and well if he was going to lead them to where the cure was buried.

She pulled her wrist away when she felt he had drunk enough and roughly pulled him to his feet. She had to roll her eyes at the look he was giving her. “If I was planning on killing you do you think I would have given you my blood?”

“I’ve heard you can be quite sadistic when you want to be,” he responded.

Rebekah grinned. “Good. So you know not to cross me.” She began to pull his from the room, her hand gripping tightly around his wrist – threatening to break it if he tried anything. “So you’ve said you know where Silas and the cure are buried?”

“I’ve been there,” he answered.

“So you won’t have any problem leading me there then?” she questioned and quickly made her way through the mansion and out the front door, pushing Shane into the passenger seat on her car.

“None at all but it would be rather pointless going without Bonnie,” he told her when got in the car. “She’s the only one who can perform the spell. And you’d need a hunter who has completed his mark.”

“All just details, dear,” she replied as she pulled out of the mansion. “So you will lead us there?”

“Us?”

“Me, Stefan, Elena, Damon, Jeremy and Bonnie,” she answered.

“What use is Jeremy without a complete tattoo?” Shane questioned and Rebekah turned to give him a grin.

She knew Damon and Klaus had been working overtime to complete Jeremy’s hunter mark. They had gone back to Klaus’ original plan of turning an entire bar of people and while Damon and Klaus did most of the fighting, Jeremy managed to stake all of them to complete his mark

“Jeremy has completed it and we’ll handle the Bonnie situation. She hasn’t agreed to it yet but we’ll convince her.”

“And how are you going to do that with your brother around stalking her every move?”

“I will handle Kol and you convince Bonnie,” she said. “If anyone knows more about Silas than Kol it’s you so tell her that everything he’s been saying has been wrong and Silas isn’t dangerous. I’m sure she’ll come around when she discovers Kol’s beliefs on Silas are just myths.”

“Well for one, what he said about Bonnie being a sacrifice was just a myth,” he said and Rebekah gave him a curious look. “A bunch of witches – possibly the same ones Kol met – started that rumour as way to scare of any witch who thought about raising Silas.”

“So the spell won’t kill Bonnie?”

“Won’t even hurt her a little,” Shane answered. “The spell itself is in the hunter’s mark, she just needs to access it.”

Rebekah found that bit of information to be a relief. Even though if it came down to it, she would still go through with it but she is very glad that Bonnie won’t get hurt in the process.

“Why didn’t you say anything back when Kol mentioned it? You could have saved yourself being impaled by a rod.”

“Your brother doesn’t believe a word that comes from my mouth,” Shane said. “The only reason he didn’t kill me is because he doesn’t want to take the chance that I am right and that Bonnie will need me to calm her down when she loses control again.”

“Can’t say I blame him to be honest,” Rebekah shrugged. “You do come across kind of shady and to be honest, I don’t understand why Bonnie trusted you so easily but whatever it was, try and use it to get her to come with us.”

“With your brother looming over her everywhere she goes? I don’t think so,” he muttered.

“Leave my brother to me. I’ll handle him,” Rebekah said to him.

xxx

Bonnie and Kol walked in silence back to the car after their meeting with Stefan. Bonnie could tell Kol was feeling a bit tense but she didn’t question it. She knew soon enough he’d bring it up. He always did.

And he did, much sooner than Bonnie expected.

“You laid down some rules that I have to abide by if we were going to work together and I think it’s only fair if I get to do the same,” Kol said to her as he pulled out of the _Mystic Grill_ parking lot and onto the main road.

Bonnie arched an eyebrow at Kol. “What are you talking about?”

Kol was beginning to get real sick of her running after her friends and trying to convince them about Silas. If they didn’t believe now they never would. They were all too wrapped up in their own selfish need to get to the cure that none of them cared about the consequences getting it would make.

“You need to stop running after your friends,” he began and Bonnie couldn’t help but roll her eyes at him. “None of them are going to see it the way that we do. We don’t mind never getting a hold of the cure because neither of us wants it but all of them do and they aren’t going to worry about how getting it will affect everyone else.”

“Well neither do you. You just don’t want to die,” Bonnie interjected. “And I don’t want my friends to die either so forgive me for trying to make them see some sense,” she said with sigh. “Not that it matters anyway. I’m the only one who can access it and I have no plans to so they will just have to suck it up. And I say that with the utmost of love.”

Kol gave a half smile at her words. “So no more running off?”

Bonnie shrugged. “I guess not. If I haven’t convinced them by now I’m not going to.” She paused and pursed her lips. “Although I do still believe that things would go much smoother if you weren’t there,” she turned her head to look at him. “They get nervous around you.”

Kol smirked. “Good.”

“Why do you keep showing up anyway? I get that you want to protect me but I am capable of doing that myself not that I would even need to, they’re my friends. I don’t need protecting from them,” she said to him.

“They are desperate for that cure and if it came down to it I do believe they would take you and force you to do the spell and I don’t want to take that risk,” he answered her truthfully. “Desperation can make people do crazy things – even to people they care about.”

His brother was the prime example. Klaus cared for his siblings – they all knew that but that didn’t stop him from sticking daggers in their hearts when he felt he was losing them.

xxx

It was later that day when Bonnie received an urgent phone call from Caroline, one that Bonnie couldn’t even understand until she managed to calm the almost out of control blonde long enough for her to coherently tell her what the problem was.

“Klaus is threatening to kill Tyler,” Caroline told her and Bonnie could hear the stress and the fear in the blonde’s voice. “I don’t know what to do Bonnie, I tried to talk him out of it but all I managed to do was convince him to give Tyler a head start.”

“Oh, my God,” Bonnie gasped, wide eyed. She didn’t really know what else to say to what Caroline just told her. “Has Tyler gone yet?”

“No, not yet,” Caroline answered. “I want to go with him, Bon, not for the whole time but just long enough to know that he’s far enough away from Klaus but I don’t know how long Klaus will give Tyler before he goes after him but me and Tyler need to be long gone by then.”

“You want me to do something?” it was more of a statement then a question and her tone held no judgement or accusation. If Caroline wanted her help with this, she’d be only happy to provide it.

“If there is anything you could do to hold Klaus off, we’d be so thankful,” Caroline responded in a hopeful voice.

Bonnie was silent for a moment as her mind ran through a number of possible ideas, one that wouldn’t be too much strain or power but still effective. “I think I have an idea,” she said after a minute. “I need you and Tyler to come to the mansion and I’ll get Klaus back here.”

“Bonnie…” Caroline’s voice was weary. She didn’t want Tyler to go anywhere near Klaus.

“Trust me, I have an idea and it’ll work,” Bonnie assured her friend. She said her goodbyes and went straight to Lucy who was lounging around in Elijah’s room.

“I need your help with something,” she said as soon as she barged into the room.

“What’s up?” Lucy asked without looking up from her book.

“I need some kind of protection spell or charm or something,” she said and jumped onto the bed next to Lucy.

“What for?” she asked and looked up from her book.

“For Tyler Lockwood,” Bonnie answered. “Long story short; Klaus is threatening to kill Tyler so he and Caroline are going to leave town and I have an idea that’ll keep Klaus locked in the mansion for a few days but I thought maybe a little something extra for Tyler might be a good idea.”

“Why is he going after Tyler?”

“Because apparently ruining his life and killing his mother wasn’t enough,” Bonnie responded with a slight edge to her tone. Whenever she thought she was beginning to warm up to Klaus he goes and pulls stunts like this. “Is there such thing as a protection spell?”

Lucy nodded. “When I was younger my mother made one for a friend who was being hunted. It’s not really a protection thing but more of a shielding type spell. You could be standing right in front of them and they won’t see or hear you.”

“I did something like that for Stefan a while back,” Bonnie responded and thought back to when she did that spell on Stefan so he could be able to spy on the Originals without their knowledge or detection. “I didn’t even think of using that for this.”

“It won’t last forever though, a couple weeks at most. It’s more difficult on people than objects,” Lucy told her. “And I will need something that belongs to Caroline and Tyler to spell since I won’t be around, that will tie them to the spell no matter how far they travel.”

“I will get something from them when they get here,” Bonnie said.

“Well; I will handle that bit when Tyler and Caroline get here and I take it it’s just a simple barrier spell you are going to use against Klaus?”

Bonnie nodded. “I’m just going to trap him in his study. It should hold long enough for Caroline and Tyler to get far enough away from him. That should hold for at least three days.”

“With your Expression magic, more like a week,” Lucy corrected.

“Do you know where Klaus is?” she asked Lucy.

“He’s with Elijah doing who knows what but I can get Elijah to bring him back just say when,” Lucy replied.

“When Caroline and Tyler get here, we’ll use Tyler to lure him into the study then I’ll trap him in there then you do the spell for Care and Tyler,” Bonnie told Lucy her plan.

 

As soon as Caroline and Tyler arrived at the mansion, Bonnie met them at the front door.

“Okay, first of all I need both your rings,” she said as soon as they stepped inside.

Caroline and Tyler shared a confused look but both removed their rings and handed them to Bonnie.

The witch motioned them to follow her as she began to make her way up the stairs and towards the room where Lucy would do the spell.

“Why do you need our rings?” Caroline asked as they followed closely behind her.

“Lucy is going to use them for a spell that will be a bit of added protection against Klaus and so long as you wear the rings but unfortunately the spell itself won’t last forever, just a few weeks but that should be long enough,” she explained to the and led them into the room Lucy was in.

“You didn’t tell me Lucy was back,” Caroline commented and sent a friendly smile to the older witch.

Bonnie handed the rings to Lucy who put them into separate bowels filled with all kinds of herbs needed for the spell.

“Bonnie explained what the rings were for?” Lucy asked Caroline and Tyler who nodded. “Good.” She turned to Bonnie. “It’s going to need about an hour for the rings to soak in the essence. If you want, I can get Elijah to bring Klaus back.”

“Not that I don’t doubt your abilities but what exactly are you planning on doing when Klaus gets here?” Tyler asked Bonnie.

“I’m going to trap him in the study,” she answered. “That will give you at least a week’s head start and plus the few weeks you have with this spell so that should be plenty of time to pick the perfect hiding place.”

“I suggest Finland if you don’t mind the cold,” Lucy suggests and Caroline gave her an ‘are you kidding’ look and Bonnie chuckled. Caroline hated the cold weather. “Or there are a number of secluded islands scattered around Europe that are nice and warm,” she added with a grin directed at Caroline.

“I don’t think I’ll be in any place for very long,” Tyler said and faked a laugh. “I heard Katherine has been running from Klaus for over five hundred years and all she did was steal the moonstone and turn herself into a vampire.”

“We won’t let it get to that point, Tyler,” Bonnie said with conviction. “We’ll find a way to stop him.”

Caroline rubbed her hand comfortingly up and down his arm, silently agreeing with Bonnie’s words. “And I will stay with you as long as it takes.”

“Call Klaus?” Bonnie asked to Tyler who nodded.

“Call Klaus.”

It took around fifteen minutes for Elijah to return back to the mansion with Klaus and Tyler was waiting in the middle of the study when Klaus walked through the front door while Caroline was upstairs with Lucy and Bonnie was just around the corner waiting for Klaus to enter the room so she could trap him in there.

“Are you really this stupid?” she heard Klaus ask Tyler when he caught sight on the younger hybrid.

When she heard Tyler reply, she knew Klaus had entered the study. She rounded the corner and stood in the doorway. She used her magic to keep Klaus stuck in his place long enough for Tyler to walk out of the room and when her magic dropped and he could move again, he headed straight for Tyler but bounced back against the invisible barrier covering the doorway.

“Bonnie,” he gritted out and stood right in front of her. “Release me.”

“Not going to happen,” she replied. “You said you’d give Tyler and head start and I’m going to make sure you do just that.” She’d also make sure he wouldn’t be able to hurt Tyler. He’d already caused the teenaged hybrid so much pain.

Bonnie walked away from Klaus, leaving him to scream and yell threats behind her - none of them fazing her in the slightest.

Tyler remained outside the invisible barrier gloating to the hybrid while Bonnie went to find Caroline. When she found her, Bonnie led her far enough away so Klaus couldn’t eavesdrop on their conversation.

“What’s going to happen when the barrier drops?” Caroline asked with concern.

“He’ll try and find Tyler but he won’t. Lucy is working on a spell that will shield both of you from Klaus. It won’t last forever but long enough for you to get Tyler as far away as possible.” Bonnie answered and gave Caroline a bit of relief. “Are you planning on staying with him the entire time?”

Caroline shook her head. “I just need to know wherever he is he is safe and then I’ll come back. As much as I want to go with him, it might not be a good idea. It might be easier for Klaus to track both of us than Tyler alone.”

Bonnie frowned when she could tell her friend was trying to hold back her tears and she just knew that what she had been thinking since Caroline called her earlier was the best idea.

“You won’t be apart for long, Care,” Bonnie said and Caroline gave her a confused look. “I have another idea. We get the cure and shove it down Klaus’ throat. That way he’s powerless and you and Tyler can finally have some peace.”

Caroline gave Bonnie a look of surprise. “But I thought you were so against getting the cure?”

“I’m more against my friend’s lives being in danger and I can’t think of another way to stop Klaus without killing everyone one of you so this seems like the only logical choice,” Bonnie explained.

“And what about Kol and his obsession with keeping the cure buried with Silas?” she asked. “I think he’d notice if you just randomly disappeared along with everyone else.”

“I have no idea what to do there and I don’t even want Lucy to know about this either because she’d insist on coming with me and I don’t want to put her in danger,” Bonnie sighed and ran a hand through her hair as she tried to come up with some kind of solution.

“You could always dagger him,” Caroline said and Bonnie’s eyes widened.

“No way, I’m not going to do that to him.”

“You don’t have to, I’m sure Rebekah will. She was willing to when he compelled Damon to kill Jeremy,” she began. “She wants the cure more than any of us and when it’s all done you remove the dagger. Or even Jeremy?”

“I can’t do that to him, Care,” Bonnie frowned. “I’ll just have to find another way to keep him out of it. Maybe I should tell Lucy and then she and Elijah could distract him.”

Bonnie knew they would not be able to do so for long without Kol figuring out what was going on but maybe long enough for her to get to where the cure was buried and get it.

“To get to the cure you’d have to contact Shane and I know you don’t exactly want to do that.”

“I’ll just have to put up with that,” Bonnie shrugged.

“There you two are,” they heard Lucy’s voice. She walked towards them and held out her hand to Caroline – the blonde’s ring resting on her palm. “There you go my lovely, one psycho hybrid repellent ring.”

“Thank you for this,” she said with a grateful smile and slipped the ring back on her finger. “Both of you. You’ve made this so much easier for us,” she finished and gave both of them a hug.

“I’d do anything for you, you know that,” Bonnie said and held her friend tight.

“I know and I would for you too,” Caroline replied and pulled back with a sigh. “I think Tyler and I better get a move on.”

“Call me whenever you can,” Bonnie said to her and she nodded.

“I will and good luck with Kol,” she replied and gave both witches a lasting smile before heading back to the foyer to get Tyler.

“Good luck with Kol? What was that about?” Lucy questioned her when Caroline left.

Bonnie just gave a shrug. “We just got into a little argument this afternoon. Nothing too important.”

Bonnie knew she could have just told Lucy her plan then and there but there was something stopping her from doing so. There was someone else she needed to talk to first.

xxx

Around midnight that night, Kol knocked on his sister’s front door three times before kicking it open.

“Darling sister I believe you have something of mine,” he called out as he entered. “I’d like it back please. I’m not done torturing it.”

When Kol had returned back to the mansion after speaking with Stefan he had decided to let off a little steam by torturing the good professor only he was no longer locked in the cellar like he should have been.

It had taken a few hours but Kol finally figured out who was behind it and he was not at all surprise when he found out Rebekah and Stefan had set the whole thing up. They figured out he had taken Shane so they came up with a plan. Stefan distracted Kol and Bonnie while Rebekah took Shane.

“You can have him back when I’m done with him,” she replied as she came into view. She frowned when she looked at her door. “You are paying to have that fixed.”

“When you are done with him I’ll have no more use for him,” he countered.

“You can still kill him. I’m sure you’ll enjoy that,” she rolled her eyes and sat down on one of the chairs.

“There won’t be any need for that,” he said and stood in front of her. “After you complete your foolish little plan Silas will kill all of you – oh wait! You can’t. The only one who can access the tomb knows how idiotic your plans are.”

Rebekah looked up at him, a smug grin appearing on her lips. “She doesn’t believe that anymore.” Rebekah wished she had a video camera to catch the sudden change on Kol’s face.

“What did you do, Rebekah?” he asked her with a low and threatening tone.

“I did nothing, neither did Shane,” she answered. “Though I had hoped to use Shane to convince Bonnie to come with us but it turned out that wasn’t needed. Something better happened. Something that made Bonnie want to find the cure.”

“What did you do?” he asked her again, this time with a growl as he pulled her up off her seat.

“I told you, I did nothing. It was something Nik did,” she said with a smirk. “His threats against Tyler Lockwood have convinced her that getting the cure and shoving it down Nik’s throat it the best option to save her friend’s boyfriend. She came to me Kol, I didn’t go to her.”

“It will kill her, Rebekah,” Kol tried to convince her not to go through with it.

“No it won’t. That part is just a myth those witches created so no witch would want to open it. Shane explained all of it to me, the spell and all. It’s not dangerous,” she attempted to explain to Kol. “All she has to do is release the spell from Jeremy’s tattoo and that will open the secret passage way. She will be fine and I will make sure of that. I won’t let anything happen to her, I promise” she said sincerely and put a comforting hand on Kol’s arm but he pushed her away from him.

“I’m not even going to let you put her in that position,” he and pulled a dagger from his jacket pocket but before Kol could even react, Rebekah had stabbed her own dagger covered in the ash into his heart.

“Brother I’m so sorry but I can’t let you get in the way of this,” Rebekah spoke with tears welling in her eyes. She had hoped it wouldn’t have to come to this. “I promise I will keep her safe but I need her to do this,” she said before he blacked out completely.

The blonde wiped away the tears from her eyes as she carefully laid Kol’s body on the floor. She flinched when she felt Stefan touch her arm.

“Take him down to the basement. I’ll contact everyone and tell them we are ready to go,” she told him and pushed back her emotions, she’d have time to deal with them later but now she needed to concentrate on getting the cure, the one thing she had been desperate for since its discovery and she was only a few short days away from finally obtaining it.

She was not going to let her brother stand in the way of that.

xxx

Early the next morning, Elena Gilbert wrapped her arms around Bonnie the moment she saw her waiting by the plane Rebekah had organised to take them to their destination.

“I am so glad you changed your mind,” she said and held her friend tight. “I couldn’t deal with us being on opposite sides.”

Though the doppelganger was curious to why Bonnie had a sudden change of mind, she wasn’t going to risk changing it back by asking too many questions about it. She’d leave it be for the time being.

“Me too,” Bonnie replied and hugged her friend back just as tight.

“Alright everyone, get on. We haven’t time to waste,” Rebekah called from the plane and hurried everyone onto the eight seater private jet.

“She’s awfully chipper,” Bonnie commented to Elena who giggled.

“I’m not surprised, she’s nearly got the one thing she’s wanted after all these years.”

Bonnie followed Elena onto the plane and sat down in the surprisingly comfortable seat across from her while Jeremy sat down next to her.

“Nice tattoo,” she said with a grin after she noticed the visible tattoo on his hand that led all the way up his arm and under the sleeve of his shirt. “Actually really suits you.”

“Hope I get to keep it,” he replied and admired the art on his arm. “This is like a thousand dollars’ worth of ink.”

“Shane wants you to help Jeremy decipher the mark – figure out what it means and the spell,” Elena said to Bonnie who frowned at the mention of Shane. He was the last person in the entire world she wanted to be stuck on a secluded island with.

She used to look up to him and really admired him but now he just gives her the creeps.

“Shouldn’t be too hard,” Bonnie said and smiled to Jeremy.

“Why did you change your mind?” Jeremy asked her.

“Caroline and Tyler,” she answered and Elena nodded.

“I cannot believe he has to nerve to threaten Tyler like that when everything has been his own fault,” Elena said.

“I don’t want Tyler to become another Katherine and I don’t want Caroline to lose him,” Bonnie said. “I want the cure so I can shove it down Klaus’ throat so he is powerless and he can stop causing us all pain.” Elena’s eyes widened as she motioned to Rebekah who was sitting with Shane and the Salvatore’s going through a map of the island Shane had put together. “It’s okay, she knows what I plan to do,” Bonnie smiled and looked to Rebekah who winked at her.

After Caroline and Tyler left Bonnie found herself going over to Rebekah’s house. She knew there was no one else who wanted the cure more than the blonde Original so it seemed like going to Rebekah was the most logical answer.

Rebekah had been surprised to see Bonnie at her doorstep but listened to what she had to say and as long as Bonnie’s plan did not include killing Klaus, she would be okay with helping. Bonnie also knew that if Rebekah had her way, she’d make each of her siblings take the cure so they could be human together.

“And she’s okay with that?” Elena asked.

Bonnie nodded. “As long as she gets the cure she doesn’t really care.”

She didn’t tell them that she had promised that Klaus was to remain alive even after they turn him into a human but she figured they didn’t really need to know that right now.

When the plane began to take off Bonnie looked over at Elena and couldn’t help but laugh at her friend who was gripping the armrest with a tense look on her face.

“Still afraid of flying?” Bonnie asked. “You’d think being a vampire you’d be over that fear,” she said when Elena nodded.

“It’s not like a plane crash is going to kill you, me and Bonnie most likely but not you,” Jeremy commented coolly as he read through the magazine he brought with him for the plane trip.

Elena sent a glare to her brother while Bonnie just watched on in amusement.

xxx

By the time Lucy and Elijah had discovered what had happened it was almost too late. Everyone was on the island and they had Bonnie with them ready to perform the spell to raise Silas and get the cure and the only other person who could help was temporarily dead somewhere in town.

When Lucy discovered Bonnie was missing she called Kol but he never answered and after countless messages and voicemails she couldn’t wait around any longer. They knew something was wrong.

Bonnie was on the island and Kol was nowhere to be found.

A standard locator spell was enough for Lucy Bennett to find out what Rebekah had done with Kol’s body and she wasn’t very creative with her hiding spot. She had put him in the basement of her new house.

She must have figured since everyone who knew about the cure would be with them on the island aside from Tyler, Caroline and Klaus, her basement would be a safe enough place.

Good thing none of them knew she had come back to town.

After Lucy removed the dagger from his heart, Elijah picked up Kol’s body and moved him to the couch in Rebekah’s living room for a bit more comfort when he awoke.

“I got to say, for once I’m actually looking forward to him going bat crap crazy,” Lucy stated and sat down on one of the plush chairs. Lucy did not care for anyone else on that island besides Bonnie, and it would not bother her one bit if Kol had to kill every single one of them to bring her cousin home.

“How much longer til he wakes up?” Lucy asked Elijah. She was beginning to get fidgety. She couldn’t stand just sitting around while Bonnie was doing God knows what on that island with the wacky professor.

“Should not be too much longer,” he answered.

Only fifteen minutes had passed but felt like forever for Lucy and she let out a relieved sigh when she saw Kol’s fingers begin to twitch and the colour return to his flesh.

Elijah helped Kol sit up and handed him a blood bag.

“Where is Rebekah?” he questioned and tore into the bag.

“She is on the island where the cure is buried,” Elijah told him.

Kol growled. “I swear if she wasn’t my sister I’d kill her.”

“And she has Bonnie with her,” Lucy added. “And she’s willing to do the spell to get it for them.”

“Who else is with them?”

“Elena, Stefan, Damon, Jeremy and Shane,” Lucy answered.

“How long have I been out?” he asked and finished off the blood bag his brother had given him to get his strength back up.

“A day and a bit,” Elijah answered. “Which means you need to get a move on if you want to stop them from opening Silas’ crypt,” Elijah handed Kol a pack filled with blood bags and anything else he may find himself needing on an island and filled him in on all the details and told him where he had organised a plane ready to take Kol to his destination.

“You’re staying behind?” Kol asked and Elijah nodded.

“We’re staying to make sure Bonnie’s spell on Klaus holds long enough for Caroline to help Tyler get away,” Lucy answered. Kol gave her a look and Lucy shrugged. “Bonnie will explain.”

“We’ll drive you to the plane and let us know when you arrive back we’ll be there to pick you and Bonnie up,” Elijah said as the three of them walked out of Rebekah’s house.

xxx


	29. Choices

By the time Kol arrived on the island Bonnie and the others had already been there for two days, this day being their third. Lucy had performed a locator spell to find the island by using Elijah's blood to pinpoint Rebekah's location.

Finding where exactly they were on the island however, proved to be a bit more difficult. He had heard stories from witches that Silas was buried in a tomb that lay beneath a cave, blocked off, only accessible by a witch with the power of Expression using a complete Hunter's Mark to open up the secret passage way.

He knew his best bet of finding Bonnie would be to head towards a cave. That's where Shane would want her to be.

It wasn't long before he reached the edge of a cliff, one that looked over a clear lake and across the water he could see an entrance into the rock's wall.

Kol knew it had to be there.

When he entered the dark cavern he was met by Rebekah and Damon, both looking bruised and battered.

"Kol," his sister breathed out in surprise, shock and relief to see him.

He ignored the both of them and jumped down into the well, landing safely on his feet as he hit the ground. He cursed the moment he entered the secret passage way, he could smell blood, her blood.

She was hurt.

He used the scent of her blood as a guide, using it to lead him to wherever Bonnie was.

Kol arrived at the crypt and saw the hunter that most likely attacked his sister and Damon lying unconscious on the ground, he saw a struggling Jeremy in the grip of an awakening Silas and Bonnie in the corner, bleeding out.

Dying.

A string of curses flowed through his mind. He knew that it was too late to prevent Silas from awakening but he could use his distraction with Jeremy to give him some time to heal Bonnie and escape with her so without another thought, Kol sped over to Bonnie and dropped to his knees next to her. He wasted no time in tearing into his wrist and brining it down to her mouth, forcing his blood down her throat to heal her injury.

He gave her just enough to heal her wound before he lifted her up in his arms and left the crypt without looking back. His only concern was getting himself and Bonnie as far away from Silas as possible.

xxx

When Kol had felt like he had gotten a safe distance away from the cave –and the newly awakened Silas- he let go of Bonnie and let her stand but kept her close in case she was too weak to stay up on her own.

"Are you alright?" he asked her and checked her over for any more injuries.

"I'm fine," she told him and wrapped her arms around him, burying the face in his chest. "I'm so sorry for doing this."

Kol kissed the top of her head and held her tighter, relieved that she was okay. "Yeah I'm furious at you," he told her without an ounce of anger in his voice. If she hadn't have been hurt his anger might have been shown a little more. "What happened?"

Bonnie pulled back out of Kol's embrace. "I did exactly what I didn't want to do and opened the secret passage way. Jeremy and I found Silas and we tried to get the cure from him but two thousand years had basically turned him to a statue so it was impossible…" she paused and her voice softened and her hand touched her back. "Then I got stabbed."

"I take it that it was the hunter?" he growled and his hands went to where her wound was to check that it was all healed and was pleased to see that it was but it didn't stop him from gently rubbing the area with his fingers.

Hunter's curse be damned, that hunter was going to die for what he did.

"Yes he stabbed me, no you don't need to do anything about him," she replied, knowing exactly what he was thinking and pushed away his hands. "I'd rather you not get stuck with the curse."

His hands came up to cup her cheeks and his forehead touched hers. "You have no idea how worried I was about you, how scared I felt the moment I caught the scent of your blood."

"I'm okay," she reassured him and allowed herself to bask in the comfort and the warmth his hands gave her while her own came up to wrap around his wrists. "And I'm so glad you are here."

Bonnie could barely move when she was lying on the hard ground of the cold cave, blood pouring out of her wound but her mind was racing. She thought about her dad who she had just walked out on, Lucy, Caroline and Kol.

It was a little less frightening knowing Jeremy was there but she still could not bear the thought of not seeing her loved ones and mending bridges between them, especially the one between her and her father.

"Oh, my God is Jeremy alright? Did you see him?" she asked him, the thought of Jeremy snapped her back to reality and she realised she hadn't seen him since Kol got her out of the cave.

Kol knew there was no way that Jeremy was still alive, Silas would have killed him the moment he got what he needed. "I'm sure he's fine," he lied to her. "Stefan and Elena were right behind me, I'm sure they got to him in time."

The last thing he should be doing is lying to her, especially about something so huge like the death of a friend but he could not risk Bonnie losing control right now. He swore to himself that he would tell her the moment they arrived home.

Bonnie narrowed her eyes at him. "You're hiding something from me. What is it?"

"Silas is awake," he told her grimly. "And who knows where he is now."

Bonnie's eyes widened slightly. "How?"

"The other hunter must have managed to wake him up but someone took the cure before he was able to," he knew he shouldn't be lying but he couldn't tell her the truth. Hell, it may not even be true. Maybe Stefan and Elena did get to him in time.

His words made Bonnie remember a bit more from the cave and her eyes narrowed and she chewed lightly on her bottom lip.

She might know who took the cure.

"Was the hunter still in the tomb when you came and got me?" he nodded. "We need to get back there and find him," she said and Kol gave her a quizzical look. "He knew far too much about us and I think I may know how and he can help us."

"He won't help us," Kol stated. "He's a hunter; he won't work alongside a vampire –

"Unless it will benefit him or his ultimate goal and if what I think is correct, he's already been working with a vampire and he won't turn down what I'll offer him."

Bonnie didn't see much down in the cave but before she began to go in and out of consciousness from the blood loss but she did see Elena, only it wasn't.

It was Katherine.

"We need to get back to the cave and find him," she said and grabbed Kol's arm and began to walk in the direction of the cave. "If what we offer him can result in Silas' death then he will help up," she said, sure of herself.

"And if he doesn't?" Kol questioned.

"Then I guess we leave him to die," she shrugged and Kol arched a brow at her before a grin crossed his face.

xxx

"Can I ask you something?" Kol asked her as they were heading back towards the cave. It wasn't Kol's ideal choice but the best place to start in their search for the hunter.

Hopefully Silas had already moved on to somewhere else.

Bonnie nodded her head and sent him a curious look. "Of course."

"You were against helping Elena get the cure but you'd get it to help Caroline and Tyler?"

"It's different," Bonnie mumbled and continued to look straight ahead.

"Enlighten me," Kol responded. "One friend wants your help and you deny her of it but another needs it and you jump." He said stopped walking and Bonnie did the same.

"No one's life was a stake when Elena wanted the cure but now your asshole of a brother is threatening to kill Tyler and if shoving the cure down his throat is the only way to stop him then so be it," Bonnie explained to him.

"If you had come to me I could have helped. I could have handled my brother," Kol told her.

Bonnie let out a scoff. "Yeah, because you care so much about Caroline and Tyler that you'd fight your own brother to help them."

"No, but I care about you," he replied and his hand found hers down by her side. "And I would much rather help them than deal with Silas," he added. "Besides, Nik and I fight all the time," he finished with a smirk.

Kol and Klaus were notorious for their disagreements that more often than not ending with one of them being seriously hurt or in Kol's case - daggered in a box for one hundred years.

Bonnie sighed and looked down to their hands. "Caroline and Tyler didn't try to kill you," she answered his initial question quietly. "Elena did."

Kol resisted the urge to smirk. "So what, refusing to help Elena was some type of punishment for trying to kill me?" Bonnie shrugged. "And Silas was your cover up?"

Bonnie knew her attitude was petty and a little childish but she didn't really care. She just thought of the many times Elena had chosen one or both of the Salvatore brothers over her in a time of need.

"I believed you about Silas but I was willing to take the chance you were wrong to save a friend whose life was –and still is- in danger," she responded. "Elena's life wasn't depending on the cure, but Tyler's is."

"I didn't know you and Tyler were this close," Kol commented.

"We're not really but we grew up together and were in the same circle of friends, we may not be close but I do care about him and my best friend is in love with him so of course I will do whatever I can to help," she explained. "So I decided to take the risk that you were wrong and get the cure."

"And what you intend to do with the cure once you obtain it, is shove it down my brother's throat and then what, kill him so you best friend's lover will be safe?" Kol questioned with an arched brow.

Bonnie shrugged. "Whatever makes him back off."

She made a move to continue walking back in the direction of the cave but Kol's hand wrapped around her elbow and turned her back around to face him. "Do you really expect to stand idly by and do nothing while you place threats against my brother?"

"He put you in a box for a century," she retorted and pulled her arm from his grip.

"And one day I will repay him for that, but I'm not going to let you or your friends kill my brother," he stated and his eyes locked with hers. "So don't even try it, Bonnie."

Bonnie pursed her lips and her eyes stayed on his. "Fine," she gave in. "Why waste the cure on someone like him, anyway," she mumbled and turned to continue her way to the cave. "There are more deserving people who could benefit from it."

Kol grinned and quickly caught up to her, his arm sliding around her waist and placed a kiss to her cheek.

xxx

The two of them were waiting for the hunter when he pulled himself up out of the well and when he did, Kol pulled him up by the throat and kept him on the ledge, threatening to drop him back over and send him tumbling to the hard rocky ground below and to a certain death.

"By all means, go ahead and push me," the hunter mustered a smirk. "It would give me great pleasure in haunting an Original."

"It won't be him doing the pushing," Bonnie said from her spot next to Kol.

His eyes flickered to Bonnie and she could see the split second of confusion to cross his face. He must have thought she'd be dead by now.

"You'd kill me?" he questioned her.

Bonnie scoffed when he sounded so surprised. "You stabbed me, nearly killed me and beat the hell out of my friend so yes, I would."

"Then why aren't I already dead?" he questioned and looked back and forth between the witch and the vampire.

"Because I think we could help each other," she said and he gave her an intrigued look, his eyes urging her to continue. "You're working with Katherine aren't you?" she questioned him.

"Who?"

Bonnie sent a look to Kol who grinned at her as he let go of the hunter but he was held in place by Bonnie's magic. She stood in from of him and placed her hand on his chest and pushed back on it a little.

"Katherine Pierce," she repeated and looked him square in the eye and pushed a little more, fortunately it was enough for him to give in.

"What about her?" he said, defeat in his eyes.

Instead of pushing him she pulled him back and kept him safe on the ledge. "Do you know how or where to find her?"

He shook his head and moved far from the ledge. "She found me a while back when I was tracking some vampires- told me she could help me get to the cure and to Silas."

Bonnie's brow furrowed in confusion. "Katherine hasn't been in Mystic Falls for months, how does she even know any of that?"

"Said she had someone on the inside," came Vaughn's reply. "Some werewolf girl who was working with a professor."

"Hayley was working with Shane?" Bonnie froze at the new bit of information but she shouldn't have been at all surprised. Of course he had someone else working for him. In the end, Shane turned out to be shady as hell. He never cared about her; he just wanted to use her as pawn in his crazy ass plans.

"Katherine tracked her down, they made a deal," Vaughn continued and leant against the rocky walls. "What the deal entailed, I don't know but I do know where the werewolf is," he said.

"Where is she?" Kol asked.

"I don't know if I want to tell you," Vaughn shrugged and his eyes flickered to Bonnie. "How will this benefit me?"

"You don't die," Kol sneered and the hunter let out a throaty chuckle.

"She won't kill me; she doesn't have it in her. I can see it in her eyes," he smirked at Bonnie who just sent him an icy glare.

"You help us, we give you the cure and let you fulfil your Hunter's destiny or whatever crap it is and let you kill Silas," she said to him.

"Wherever she is won't help us," Kol said and looked at Bonnie. "What good is knowing where the werewolf is when it's Katherine we need."

"Katherine found her in New Orleans," Vaughn told her, ignoring Kol and accepting her offer.

"Katherine hates loose ends," Bonnie said. "She'll want to take care of Hayley."

"And she'll send someone else to do it," Kol responded.

"We find Hayley and we night be able to find Katherine," Bonnie said. "She might know more than we expect." Her eyes met Kol's and a sneaky grin crossed her lips. "And if not, perhaps Elijah might know how to find her."

"We have more pressing matter than a werewolf," Kol stated. "Like Silas."

Vaughn stepped forward. "I wouldn't worry too much, Silas might have a bit on his mind," he told them.

"What are you talking about?" Kol questioned with a threatening glare.

"Silas is a vampire –not your average kind but still a vampire- and he just killed a Hunter of the Five. He's got the Hunter's curse to deal with now," Vaughn told them and adjusted his pack on his shoulders as he readied to leave. Both Bonnie and Kol tensed and his gaze turned to the Original. "But I'm sure you're already aware of that seeing as you're the one who left the young hunter to die." The hunter smirked as he watched Bonnie slowly turn to face Kol. "Well, I guess I'll be seeing to two of you in New Orleans, then." Neither of them took any notice of Vaughn as he left the cave.

"Is that true?" she finally asked him, her voice cracking slightly. "Is Jeremy dead? Did you leave him to die?"

"I didn't leave him to die," he told her. "It was already too late by the time I got there; Silas was waking up so I chose to protect you and get us both away from him. It was too late for Jeremy."

"If he was still alive then it wasn't too late, Kol but you left him to die," she shot back, her voice stronger this time, full of anger and confusion.

Jeremy couldn't be dead. She couldn't believe it. She wouldn't. It wasn't that long ago he was standing right next to her. How could he now be gone?

"Can we not talk about this now?" he begged her. "We need to get back home and we need to figure out this Katherine situation."

Bonnie let out a dry laugh. "Katherine is the least of my worries right now, Kol. Jeremy is dead, I don't give a damn about her and what's she up to."

She's probably planning to use the cure to kill Klaus, like what Bonnie originally planned to do with it. Why should Bonnie stop her? She should help her then kill her. Two birds with one stone.

"Fine, don't worry about Katherine, worry about Silas. He's the one that needs you; he's the one who actually will be looking for you."

The rational side of Bonnie knew Kol had a point. If what Shane had told her was true (and most of it concerning Silas so far had been true), she'd be Silas' number one target because only she could perform the spell to bring down the veil. But she would not let this conversation go. She tore her hand from his grip. "Fine, just get me the hell off this island."

xxx

Bonnie remained silent for the entire flight back; she just stared out the window, void of all emotion. If she was feeling anything at all, Kol couldn't tell.

Her anger dulled during the plane trip home. The anger she felt for Kol back in the cave she no longer held. In fact, she now felt empty. All she could think of was Jeremy. Every time her eyes shut, his face was all she saw.

She saw him lying on the ground, eyes open, face bloody as he pleaded with her to help him and when she tried to he disappeared and she would wake immediately. She tried to push those thought and visions out of her mind and tried to replace them with happier memories that she shared with him.

It only made it worse.

Bonnie had seen Jeremy die before, she had even stopped his heart herself at one time but she always knew he would come back to her. This time he wasn't coming back. This time he was gone for good.

She wasn't sure if she could handle that. She didn't want to lose any more people in her life; she already had so few left.

Kol sighed from his seat next to her. As much as the silence killed him, he left her be the entire duration of the flight home. He knew she wouldn't speak to him no matter what he said or how many times he said it but when the plane landed and she made no effort to move he

His hand touched her leg, just above her knee and squeezed gently to get her attention. Her head turned so she faced him.

"We've landed," he told her and brushed a strand of hair away from her face. He frowned when she said nothing and just stood up and brushed past him to head for the exit.

Lucy and Elijah were waiting for them when they walked down the steps of the plane and Kol felt Bonnie push past him and run straight into Lucy's arms. Kol couldn't hear any sobs and Lucy sent him a confused look, silently asking him what was wrong with her cousin.

"It did not go well I take it," Elijah said when Kol stopped in front of him.

"Silas is awake and roaming around somewhere, Jeremy Gilbert is dead and Katherine Pierce has the cure," Kol told his brother and ran a hand through his hair, his eyes then shooting back to Bonnie.

"Katerina," he heard his brother mumble under his breath.

"Perhaps you can handle that predicament," Kol said, referring to his brother's infatuation with Katerina spanning over five hundred years.

"There is no doubt in my mind she plans to use the cure to bargain her freedom from Niklaus," Elijah stated and Kol nodded his head. "She'll show her face to me soon enough, she'll never confront Niklaus on her own."

"But can you deal with her without your feelings for her getting in the way?"

"Given the light of things at this moment, I know what my priorities are," he answered.

"Good," Kol responded. "Because I won't think twice about ripping that bitch's heart out to get my hands on the cure so I can shove it down Silas' throat myself."

"Did something happen to Bonnie on that island?" Elijah asked his brother, swiftly switching the topic from Katherine and effectively distracting Kol. "The day you arrived her barrier spell broke, we assumed something happened to her."

"There was another hunter on the island," he replied. "He stabbed Bonnie in the back and left her to die."

"You got there in time?"

Kol nodded. "I got to her just as Silas was feedings on Jeremy; I healed Bonnie and got the hell out of there before Silas fully recovered."

"And you left the boy to be killed?"

Kol rolled his eyes when he could hear the disappointment in his brother's tone. "I don't regret it, brother; his death provided me with the perfect distraction to get Bonnie and myself out of there."

Elijah sighed and shook his head at his brother. "Good luck convincing Bonnie of that," he said to Kol as the two of them headed towards the car.

xxx

Kol led a still silent Bonnie to his room as soon as they returned back to the mansion -Niklaus was still there but Elijah and Lucy took care of him before Bonnie even saw or heard him- and Bonnie headed straight for the bathroom. He heard the shower began to run not long after she slammed the door shut.

Kol sighed and sat on the bed with his head in his hands. He had no idea how he was going to fix this. He didn't even know if she'd speak to him again.

A low growl escaped him when he sensed the presence of one of the last people he wanted to see. "What do you want, Niklaus?"

"Just wanted to congratulate Bonnie on a decision well made," Klaus taunted with a smirk on his lips. "Silas is awake, the cure is missing and her little hunter boyfriend is dead."

Kol shot up and was in Klaus' face within a second, hand wrapped tightly around his throat. "Go near her and I swear what I will do to you will make a century in a coffin seem like a paradise," he threatened lowly, his hand gripping so tight around Klaus' throat his nails nearly pierced skin.

Although Klaus did a good job at masking his emotions, Kol did not miss the flash of fear that appeared in his eyes. Klaus knew that it would give Kol great pleasure to follow through with his threats and one day he knew he finally would.

When it came to Kol, Klaus knew when not to push Kol's buttons, that's why he tried to keep on the good side of his younger brother (most times, anyway).

Klaus' hand gripped Kol wrist and twisted it, making his brother release his grip and let out a groan when Klaus' hold crushed the bone. "No need for threats, dear brother, I'm just teasing," he rolled his eyes –playing off Kol's threat- and let go of his wrist. "I have a friend that I need to hunt down and kill – painfully," a smile crossed his face as he looked at his brother. "Care to join me? I hear you assisted in the death of one of Bonnie's friends so what's another?"

Kol sent his brother an annoyed look. "I'm not in the mood for your games, Niklaus," he glared at him. With the exception of Elijah, Kol was in no state of mind to deal with his siblings.

"Well then, you enjoy the emotionally distressed witch; I'm off to hunt down Tyler Lockwood," Klaus smirked. "Care to join me for a drink before I set off on my journey?"

"Just go," Kol growled and turned his back to his brother. "The further away you are the better."

As soon as Kol turned back around, he breathed a sigh of relief to see Klaus had disappeared. The Original sat back down on the bed and lay down on top of the covers, eyes looking up at the ceiling.

He sat back up when Bonnie came out of the bathroom some time later, only wrapped in a towel with her long, dark and wet hair sticking to her shoulders and back.

Kol looked away when she dropped the towel covering her and slipped on some underwear that she had pulled out of the drawer before sliding on of his shirts over her head. A hint of a smile crossed his face when he turned back to her, he'd never not love the sight of her in clothes.

"Please don't be mad," he said and placed a hand on her cheek. "I was just trying to protect you, trying to protect the both of us," his thumb brushed along her cheekbone and she remained silent and her eyes refused to meet his. "Darling, please say something," he pleaded with her, unable to bear her silence any longer.

Her eyes finally locked with his. "You let Jeremy die," she accused him with a flat and emotionless tone. "You could have saved him but you didn't."

Kol let out a sigh, took a step back from here and ran a hand through his hair. He knew it would come to this eventually, her blaming him.

"And what's almost worse is that you didn't even bother to tell me," she avoided all eye contact with him, not able to bear the thought of looking at him after what he did and she sat down on the edge of the bed. "You led me to believe that everything was fine when he was lying dead and alone."

"I'm not going to deny that I let him die because I did," that caught her attention as he eyes snapped to his. "You're right, I probably could have saved him but the only thing on my mind at that time was you and you were dying, I needed to get you out of there," he dropped to his knees in front of her and his hands took hers. "When I got there Silas was already awake, I needed to get you away before he fully recovered because he would have disappeared with you.

Everything Silas plans to do, he needs you to be able to do it and I wasn't going to let him get away with you so yes, I chose you over Jeremy, I chose to save both our lives over his and I am sorry for the pain it's causing you but I'm not sorry that I did it because I now have you home, I have you safe and away from Silas."

Kol wasn't sorry for letting Jeremy die because at the end of the day, he meant nothing to him, none of them did. He would look out for himself and for Bonnie, everyone else would be on their own as far as he was concerned.

"He didn't deserve that," she sobbed softly and leant down to place her head on his shoulder while he wrapped his arms around her. Kol remained silent and his hands gentle brushed through her wet and matted hair as he tried to sooth her.

Kol's lips brushed against the side of her head before he moved them onto the bed for more comfort, bringing the covers over their bodies. He held her close. They faced each other, Bonnie's hands rested against his chest while he brushed his fingers along the side of her face.

"What are we going to do about Silas?" she asked him after a long but comfortable silence between the two of them.

"Don't worry about him right now," he told her and brushed back a lock of her hair behind her ear.

"Do you think he will come here?" She closed her eyes as Kol leant in closer and placed a kiss to her forehead.

"You should get some sleep," he said and continued to play with bits of her still damp hair. "I'm sure you haven't gotten much in the last few days." Kol knew it was only a matter of time before Silas made his way to Mystic Falls but he didn't want Bonnie to trouble herself with thoughts about Silas.

"I can't sleep," she said, her voice so soft Kol nearly missed it. "Little bits keep coming back to me and I can remember hearing Jeremy struggle against Katherine and Silas and when I try to close my eyes it's like I can see it happening."

"Do you want me to get you anything?" he asked her. "You should eat something, or drink something at the very least."

"I'm not hungry or thirsty," she said and buried her face in his chest.

"You need to have something," he pushed. He didn't want her to get sick or anything. "I'm going to get you something," he decided and carefully pulled away from her.

"I don't want anything," she whined and reached for him.

Kol gave a little smile at how she went from pushing him away to pulling him closer and he leant down to kiss her softly on the lips. "I will feel better knowing that you aren't silently starving or dehydrating," he said to her before giving her another kiss.

For the first time in days, Bonnie felt calm. She wasn't happy and she wasn't at peace, but she felt calm and right now, that's all she wanted. She didn't want to feel overwhelming anger or sadness – there had been too much of that in her life.

She hadn't come to terms with what had happened to Jeremy, it still felt surreal to her and maybe things would feel a lot different in the morning but she decided that she didn't want to lock herself away and hide like she did when her Grams died. Bonnie wanted to be with the people she loved and cared about.

xxx

Bonnie didn't know how long Kol was gone before her cousin came in.

"Hey, sweetie," Lucy greeted softly as she entered the dimly lit room. She sat down on the edge of the bed next to Bonnie's laying form and gently brushed some hair from her cousin's face. "Kol said you wanted some tea," she smiled softly.

"Thank you," Bonnie mumbled and sat up a bit to take the warm cup from her cousin and took a sip of the lukewarm liquid. She drank nearly half the cup before she placed it on the bedside table next to her.

"Are you feeling any better?" Lucy asked her.

Bonnie gave a little shrug. "A little, I guess," she answered. "I'm still trying to process it; it doesn't seem real right now. Like a bad dream."

"It might be like that for a while," Lucy replied.

"I'm tired," she sighed and her head lolled against the pillow.

"Go to sleep," Lucy continued to soothingly stroke Bonnie's hair as the younger witch's eyes began to struggle to stay open before the closed completed and her head relaxed against the soft pillow beneath. The older witch leant down and placed a kiss to her cousin's temple before she picked up the cup from the nightstand and stood just as Kol re-entered the room.

"I only used a small amount of herbs but it's enough to make her sleep for at least a few hours," she told him as she neared him.

Kol nodded and his eyes never left Bonnie's sleeping form. She looked peaceful.

"You'll be with her tonight?" she asked and he nodded again. "Good. Just keep an eye on her." She squeezed his shoulder comfortingly. "Jeremy isn't the first person she's lost and unfortunately he will not be the last but as long as she has her dad, me, Caroline and you, she'll be fine," she told him with a gentle smile.

When Lucy left the room, Kol slid back into the bed next to her. He kissed her gently on the lips before wrapping his arms around her and holding her close to him. The rhythm of her steady heart beat was enough to lull him to sleep.

xxx

Bonnie nearly suffocated the next morning when Caroline stopped by the mansion and had her arms around her so tightly she nearly stopped breathing.

"I am so glad that you are okay, I was so worried," she said and loosened her tight hold on Bonnie but still kept her close. "Lucy texted me last night when you got back and I wanted to come over but she said you were sleeping," she said as the two of them finally broke apart.

"What are you even doing here; I thought you left with Tyler?" Bonnie questioned as they made themselves comfortable in Kol's room while he was downstairs with Elijah and Lucy, discussing the Katherine situation.

"I did but Stefan called me and told me what happened and as much as I wanted to be with Tyler I just couldn't leave Elena alone at a time like this – I couldn't leave any of you alone," she replied with a slight frown. "He wanted to come back too, but knew he couldn't."

Bonnie was aware of the slight bond Jeremy and Tyler had formed, it was unexpected considering the two of them used to beat the crap out of each other but it happened at a time where both of them felt like outsiders. Tyler because of his sire bond and Jeremy wanted to embrace his family heritage of vampire hunting much to Elena's dismay.

"How was Elena last night?" Bonnie asked even when she knew the answer wouldn't be good. Jeremy was Elena's last living family member. Devastated probably didn't even come close to how Elena felt.

"She was in denial at first, believing that the Gilbert ring would be bring him back but since he was a supernatural it wasn't going to," Caroline sighed and her eyes began to water as the previous night's events replayed through her mind. It had been something that was hard to witness "Elena completely lost it when it finally hit her that he wasn't going to wake up."

Bonnie quickly hopped off the bed. "I need to go see her; I should have gone to see her last night when I got back, I should have been with her."

She should have known Elena wasn't going to take Jeremy's death well; she should have been there to help her through it.

Caroline followed Bonnie and stopped her from leaving the room. "That's not all, Bon," she said.

Bonnie could feel the dread well up at Caroline's tone of voice. "What else happened?"

"Damon used the sire bond to make Elena switch off her humanity," the disgust for Damon and his actions were clear in Caroline's voice. "She doesn't care about anything anymore. "She burnt the house down with Jeremy's body inside," she told Bonnie. "She said she needed a cover story for his death and then that was it, she didn't mention him again for the rest of the night."

"Her humanity is off?" she gaped and Caroline nodded. "Why on earth would Damon think that would be a good idea?"

Caroline shrugged and sighed. "We were going to use the sire bond to help Elena through it but for some stupid reason, Damon thought it'd be a better idea for Elena to completely ignore her emotions."

"Is she handling Jeremy's death at all?" Bonnie tensed as the words left her mouth. It felt strange saying it; she still could not grasp the fact that Jeremy was dead.

"I don't know how she can when she can't feel a thing," she said. "When -or if- her emotions ever get switched back on, she'll be a mess."

"Can't Damon turn her emotions back on, through the sire bond?" Bonnie questioned and Caroline shook her head.

"Stefan and I managed to convince him to reverse what he did but it had no effect," Caroline told her. "Turning off her emotions broke the sire bond. The only way for her to turn them back on is if she does it herself and believe me she has no intentions of doing that."

Bonnie tried to imagine her oldest friend without any emotion or humanity and she couldn't even come up with an image. She couldn't picture Elena without her compassion, her love or her warmth. It seemed impossible.

"What's she like?" Bonnie asked Caroline. "Is she different?"

"I haven't seen much of her since – she's keeping to herself mostly but from what I have seen, yes, she's different. She's not the same Elena that left a few days ago," Caroline said with sad eyes. "She doesn't care about anything or anyone right now."

"I need to see her," she said again.

"Do you want me to go with you?" Caroline asked her but Bonnie shook her head.

"No, it's fine," she said and gave Caroline a smile. "I should talk to her on my own."

Caroline nodded. "I'll be just a phone call away if you need me."

Truth be told, Caroline was a little nervous about Bonnie going to see Elena. Last night before her emotions got turned off, Elena spent most of the day waiting for Bonnie so she could 'fix' what had happened and now the blonde was a little concerned. She didn't know how non-humanity Elena would take to Bonnie showing up after everything.

xxx

After the two girls when their separate ways, Bonnie knocked three times on the front door of the boarding house and waited for either Damon or Stefan to answer. She felt nervous about seeing Elena. She honestly didn't know what to expect.

"Hey, Bonnie" Stefan smiled softly when he opened the door and saw her standing there. "You're back. We were worried about you yesterday," he said and stepped aside to let her in. "Damon said Kol turned up and left with you."

Bonnie nodded. "Yeah he turned up at the list minute. Elijah and Lucy found him and removed the dagger," she told him.

Stefan's eye brows rose. "You're cousin is back?" he asked and Bonnie nodded.

"She came back about a week ago." She answered. "So where's Elena?" she asked and looked around. "I've been so worried ever since I heard what happened to Jeremy and Caroline told me what happened last night and I just really want to check on Elena."

"You're a bit late," she heard Elena's voice say as she came into view. "You should have been here when I actually had use for you but of course the one time I really need you, you're off with your Original boyfriend while the only guy who will ever truly love you is dead."

Bonnie didn't really know how to respond to that. Sure, Caroline had warned her that Elena was different but she definitely was not expecting this kind of different. It was almost like Katherine was standing in front of her instead of Elena.

"Elena," Stefan tried to stop her from continuing.

"Kol saved you and left my brother to die so I'm going to put his death on the both of you."

"That's not fair, Elena, it's not her fault," Stefan tried to defend Bonnie but the doppelganger ignored him.

"So unless you are here to bring my brother back to life, you can leave," Elena said with a bored tone.

"Elena," Stefan sighed and sent a sympathetic look to Bonnie. "You can't blame Bonnie for what happened."

"Of course I can, Stefan," she replied then turned back to Bonnie. "And I will." With that, Elena turned on her heel and walked back upstairs of the boarding house, leaving Stefan and Bonnie alone in the parlour.

Bonnie forced out a laugh. "Well, she's different."

Stefan nodded his agreement. "She's definitely a lot more open with how she feels." He then gave her another sympathetic look. "I'm sure Elena didn't really mean what she said."

"Of course not," she faked a smile.

Bonnie knew Elena meant it. Bonnie could always tell whenever Elena was lying or hiding something from her and this was not one of those times. She was being completely honest and it was like a knife to Bonnie's chest.

"I should probably go," she said suddenly. "I think it might be best for Elena if I'm not around."

Just before she left the room, she heard Stefan speak again. "We're going to fix this, Bonnie," he promised her. "We'll bring Elena back."

The young witch gave the vampire a tiny smile. "I hope so."

When she made it back to her car she gripped the steering wheel tight and bit down on the inside of her cheek to stop herself from breaking down in the middle of the Salvatore's drive way. She did not want the three vampires inside to hear that. Bonnie didn't know who that person was in there but whoever it was it was not her Elena.

xxx

"It must suck to still be human, dear sister," Kol gloated and sat down across from her, placing his feet up on the coffee table in front of him. "You should also hide my body better next time."

Rebekah Mikaelson glared at her brother as he stood in front of him, hands on her hips.

"The basement is such a cliché," he smirked.

"Yes, well next time you get in my way I will put you in a cement grave instead," sneered at him. "The cure is still out there somewhere, I'm sure we'll butt heads again sometime down the road."

"Yes, but you lost your dagger, I know have it," he grinned as she fumed. "And if you don't be careful I will use it on you and put your body in a swamp," he threatened with a smirk. "I'm sure it'll be great for your complexion, Bekah."

"What are you doing here, Kol?" she gritted out and folded her arms across her chest. "Shouldn't you be running after your witch?"

"Shouldn't you be running after Stefan or has he ditched you for the doppelgänger…again? Perhaps you should give your attention back to Matt; he may actually be desperate enough to put up with you," Kol snickered and watched his sister's expression darken. "Oh, come now, Bekah darling, I'm just teasing."

"Are you here for a reason?" she asked, frustrated with her brother. She was in no mood for his games. She was still reeling from letting the cure slip through her grasp. She was so close to getting what she has wanted most for the last nine hundred years.

"I suppose not," he shrugged. "I just wanted to rub your failure in." He easily dodged the glass vase that she picked up off the table and chucked in his direction. "Well, that was rude," he chided her. "And completely unnecessary. Bekah, I thought we taught you better."

Oh, he was having far too much fun.

Kol felt his phone go off in his pocket and pulled it out and opened the message from Bonnie.

_Need to see you. I'm at your place._

"Seems I'll have to take a rain check on our little discussion, dear sister," he said to Rebekah as he sent a quickly reply back to Bonnie before slipping the phone back in his pocket.

Rebekah let out a disgusted groan. "It's pathetic to see you like this, brother. Running after the witch who ripped your heart out or did you forget that she intended to kill you from the moment she laid eyes on you?"

Kol rolled his eyes at his sister. "The past is in the past, Rebekah. Bonnie and I have both made mistakes, we've gotten over it. You should too."

xxx

Bonnie didn't know how long she stood outside the front door of her house with her key in hand as she tried to work up the guts to face her father. It had been a week since she stormed out with Klaus to help Kol and she hadn't contacted him since.

She hadn't wanted to. She hated the sudden protective fatherly role he took up when he became mayor, and maybe not returning after she saved Kol was a bit of a rebellious act on her part but now after what happened on the island and what just happened with Elena, Bonnie just wanted her dad.

She stuck the key in the door, let herself inside and began the search for her father.

"Hey, dad," she greeted a little awkwardly when she found him in his study, looking over some paperwork. Bonnie began to prepare herself for a scolding of a lifetime but it never came and she just wanted to cry when she was immediately engulfed in her father's arms.

"God, I was so worried about you," he cried into her hair and held her tight. "I had no idea where you left to. I tried to call Elena but she said the two of you got into a fight."

"I am so sorry," she apologised to him. "I shouldn't have just stormed out like that and I should have come back home that night."

"I'm just glad you are back now," he said and pulled back but still kept her close. "I just want you back home."

She gave him a smile and gave him another hug. "I'm not going anywhere."

xxx

It was only half an hour later when there was a knock at the front door. She smiled when she saw Kol on the other side. "Hey, what're you doing here?" she asked him.

He gave her a small smile. "I heard what happened with you and Elena and I wanted to come and check on you," he told her. "Can I come in?"

"Of course you can," she said and stepped aside to let him in, smiling when he leant down to place a kiss to her cheek.

"Are you okay after what happened? After what she said?" he asked her with concern when she lead him to her room, shutting the door behind them for some privacy.

Bonnie let out a sigh and shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know," she answered. "I'm still having a hard time believing that that was Elena, I've never seen her so cold and cruel before."

"Turning off your humanity will do that to you," he said with a careless expression. "And she's only going to get worse."

"I just can't help but feel everything happening right now is because of me," she frowned and sat down on the edge of her bed.

He sat down next to her and placed a hand above her knee. "That's because it is," he said and his hand went to her cheek and turned her head to face him. "They would not have been able to do anything on that island without you. If you had just listened to me than none of this would be happening, Silas wouldn't be out there somewhere ready to bring hell on earth, Elena would still have her humanity and Jeremy would still be alive."

His voice was sweet; the exact opposite of his words that stung her.

"How can you say that?" she asked him with a small voice and pushed away his hands that were gently caressing her cheek.

"We both know them to be true," he said. "This is your fault, Bonnie, and only you can fix it."

As much as Bonnie wanted to ignore Kol's words, deep down she couldn't deny that they were true. None of this would be happening if she didn't go to the island.

"How do I fix it?"

xxx

"It must sadden you to know that your beloved witch can't tell the difference between you and someone pretending to be you when you figured out I wasn't her out in mere minutes," Silas spoke to him, still using Bonnie's appearance as his disguise.

Kol had been fooled by it at first but Silas slipped up, whether it had been intentional or not Kol was still unsure of – part of the Original believed Silas just wanted to gloat about his plans and intended for Kol to figure out who was standing in front of him.

"Stay the hell away from her," Kol growled menacingly towards the being he had been terrified of facing for hundreds of years.

Silas let out a laugh, the same laugh that Kol found to be the sweetest of sounds when coming from the real Bonnie, but this was not her and it just sounded wrong. "I can't do that. I need her. She's the only one who can do what I need to be done."

"Bonnie won't drop the veil," Kol told him with a hint of a smirk on his face. "She's against it."

"She was against it before Jeremy died but now she will when her much missed grandmother, Jeremy and you convince her that it is the best thing to do," Silas smirked. "Face it, Kol, you aren't strong enough to stop me and she's weak enough to let me inside her head and tell her what she wants to do."

"But you can't kill me and you can't kill her," Kol retorted with a smirk and Silas just gave a simple shrug.

"I don't think it would take much to convince her to tell me the location of the stake," he stated. "You won't beat me, Kol. Try…and I'll make sure you lose your little witch for good and believe me there are many ways I can make that happened," he warned the Original. "I can simply kill her when I no longer have a need for her or I could draw it out and destroy her from the inside out, I can shatter her mind, make her to do terrible things she will never come back from, there is a lot I can do." A low growl rumbled deep in Kol's chest at Silas' threats. "Let her do what I need for her to do and you two can have your happy ever after. You try to stop me, I'll destroy you both. Your choice."

In the next second, Silas was gone.


	30. Deal With the Devil

No more than ten minutes after Silas disappeared; Kol arrived at Bonnie's house. The Original vampire didn't bother knocking at the door and instead he headed straight for her window and thankfully it was open.

Climbing inside her room, she was nowhere to be found but he could hear her heartbeat. She was close by.

"Bonnie?" he called out and walked further into her room.

"Are you here to give me more guilt?" he heard her question him as she came out of her bathroom.

Kol was overcome with relief when he saw her. She seemed okay. Silas didn't touch her. "That wasn't me, Bonnie," he said to her.

She let out a scoff and rolled her eyes. "Don't give me that," she replied. "Don't try to take back what you said."

"I have not seen you since you left my house earlier," he told her and walked closer to her. "That person who you thought was me, it wasn't. It was Silas."

Bonnie's brow furrowed in confusion as she looked at him like he was crazy. "What are you talking about? It was you. It sounded like you, it looked like you, it was you. Don't try and make me look stupid, Kol." She folded her arms over her chest and gave him a glare.

"Silas can get into people's heads and make them see whatever he wants them to, Bonnie," he said and his hands reached out to take hers – unfolding her arms.

She let out a sigh. "He made Shane see his dead wife," Bonnie responded as she recalled Shane telling them about Caitlyn and the Well. "He made me see Grams when Jeremy and I were trying to find his tomb."

Jeremy had made her close her eyes as he led her through the passage way to prevent her from falling for Silas' tricks.

"And he's doing it again, only this time he appeared as me," he said and squeezed her hands. "What did he say to you?"

"You said everything that happened was because of me," she answered him and tore her hands from his hold. "That it was all my fault, that Jeremy's death was my fault."

Kol refrained from letting out an annoyed growl. Of course Silas would say something like that. Of course his plan was to turn her against him.

"That wasn't me, Beautiful," he told her again, his hands cupping her face. "I swear to you it wasn't me. I don't blame you one bit for what's happening."

Kol would never blame Bonnie for what happened on the island. How was she to know Katherine was there waiting for them?

Her eyes narrowed at him and she took a step back. "If what you're telling me is true, and it truly was Silas, how do I know it's really you now?" she asked him and her eyes looked over him cautiously.

"Silas may be able to mimic a lot of things but there are certain things he'll never be able to replicate," he answered and gently pulled her back to him, their faces so close that their noses brushed together softly.

"Like what?" her eyes fluttered shut as she felt the barely-there touch of his lips against her own.

One of his hands moved from her cheek and slid down to rest on her waist. "My passion and my love for you," he said just as his lips took hers in a breath taking kiss.

Bonnie's response to the kiss was immediate as she placed her hands on his toned chest. The kiss was slow and deep and Kol held nothing back. Everything he had he put into the kiss and Bonnie felt her knees weaken and her stomach tighten. She let out a small moan when Kol parted her lips with his tongue.

There is no way this couldn't be Kol. Only he had the ability to turn her mind to a hazy mess with just a kiss.

The hand on her cheek moved into her hair, his fingers tangling in her soft tresses.

Bonnie began to feel light headed and tore her lips away from his, she inhaled deeply – her chest furiously moving up and down but of course Kol didn't stop there. His nose brushed against her jaw before he trailed kisses down the side of her neck.

Bonnie's hands moved up to grip his shoulders as he kissed his way back to her lips. Their tongues danced together and she pushed her body against his – leaving no space between them.

"Believe me?" he murmured against her lips.

She nodded her head but made no move to break away from him and instead she deepened the kiss, her hands moving up to his hair, fingers threading through it. She grinned against his mouth when heard him let out a moan after she softly bit his bottom lip.

Kol could slowly feel his control slipping and he knew he had to stop this soon and before things got to the point of no return. He found it too tempting to just pick her up, place her on the bed and slowly remove every piece of clothing, kiss every inch of her body before finally burying himself inside of her like he'd been craving to ever since he left her those months ago.

He pulled himself away from her and put a safe distance between them. "I got a bit carried away, I'm sorry," he apologised and ran a hand through his hair. He let out a deep breath as he tried to calm himself down.

A small smile appeared on her swollen lips but she said nothing. They had both gotten a bit carried away.

"What else did Silas say to you?" he asked her.

Bonnie shook her head at him. "It doesn't really matter," she said to him. "As long as it wasn't you who said it."

Looking back, she should have known that the person standing in front of her was not Kol. Kol would never suggest that the only way she could fix what was happening was to bring Jeremy back to life. She had just been so overwhelmed by what happened when she visited Elena and still recovering from the events on the island that she wasn't thinking clearly.

"What if he comes back and tries again?" she asked Kol.

"I don't know," he answered truthfully. He let out a heavy sigh and moved closer to Bonnie, sitting down next to her. "He can get inside our heads; make us see whatever he wants us to." He leant forward and rested his elbows on his knees, fingers lacing together.

"How did you know Silas had been here?"

"Because he came to me first," he told her. "He appeared as you."

"And you knew it wasn't me which is why you're here now," Bonnie finished for him and a frown crossed her lips. He could tell the difference but she couldn't. "How did you figure it out?" she asked him with a hint of curiousness.

Kol sat up straight and he repositioned himself on the bed to turn his body to face hers. "I know there was something wrong the moment I saw you," he said and his hand once again reached for hers while his other brushed some of her hair away from her face. "You're eyes…they were distant and empty. At first I thought it was something to do with what happened but how you were acting was the complete opposite."

Her eyes had been cold but her words warm and cheery and Kol didn't know if that had been a deliberate move on Silas' part or not.

Bonnie ran a hand through her hair. She really didn't want to deal with Silas. She had hoped that he was still recovering from a two thousand yearlong sleep plus the hunter's curse he would have got from killing Jeremy.

"Did you go see Elena?" he asked her, trying to lighten the mood and turn things away from Silas. Bonnie nodded her head. "How did it go?"

Bonnie nearly laughed. "It went great," she answered, her tone laced with sarcasm. "She blames me for Jeremy's death and blames me for not bringing him back to life when I got home last night."

Kol frowned and his arm went over her shoulder and pulled her into his chest. "I'm sure she doesn't really think that, she's just lashing out," he said and kissed the top of her head.

That was a lie. He'd spent his entire century as a vampire with his emotions switched off and when he did he admitted to things he didn't even know he felt and he admitted them in the harshest way possible. His goal was to hurt people, whether they'd be with his words or his hands, he wanted them to hurt.

"No," Bonnie said. "She meant it. I could tell. I know when Elena is lying."

Kol held her to him tightly. He wanted to tell her to forget Elena; that she was nothing but an ungrateful bitch who didn't appreciate Bonnie or her sacrifices but he knew that was not what she wanted to hear.

"Perhaps it would be better to keep your distance from her then," he said. "Without her humanity she is unstable and unpredictable." And there was a big possibility that she could hurt Bonnie.

"Everything sucks right now," she mumbled against his chest. "And we still need to find Hayley."

"No need to worry, Elijah and Lucy are going to handle the Katherine situation," he told her and soothingly rubbed his hand up and down her back.

Bonnie nearly let out a sigh of relief. She really didn't feel like going on a search for someone she barely knew in a town she might not even be at for information about a vampire she hated with a passion.

Elijah and Lucy would probably handle everything better than she and Kol anyway. Elijah and Lucy were smarter than the two of them and they were far more patient. Bonnie knew Kol would be far too abrasive with it and would probably end up torturing Hayley for what she knew if she didn't speak within ten seconds.

Bonnie pulled back from Kol, beginning to feel a little uncomfortable in the position she was in and ran a hand through her hair before she laid back on her bed with a sigh. Kol followed suit, but he lay on his side propped up on his elbow. His free hand softly traced the side of her face.

"None of this is your fault," he repeated to her in a soft voice, his fingers brushing along her cheek. "Elena is only putting the blame on you because she has no one else to."

Elena would never blame her precious Salvatore's and other than Bonnie, no one was around - no one who would take it anyway. Kol knew if Elena even thought of blaming Rebekah his sister would slap the doppelganger into the next century.

Bonnie turned her head to face him. "I don't want to be alone," she said to him. She was terrified that Silas would show up again. "Will you stay tonight?"

Kol gave her a small smile and leant down to place a kiss on her cheek. "Of course I will."

xxx

Lucy Bennett placed the last item in her overnight bag and zipped it up. Elijah had volunteered the two of them to go to New Orleans to find the werewolf girl Katherine had been using to gain information on the whereabouts of the cure. They had to find the girl before one of Katherine's minions did and hopefully she would know something about the location of Katherine.

Lucy was exactly thrilled with the idea of facing Katherine again, in fact, she'd probably end up killing the vampire if given the chance but most of all she was worried about leaving Bonnie. She knew her cousin wouldn't be alone and she knew Kol would take care of her (and of course Caroline would too) but she still didn't like the idea of leaving her at a time like this and with someone like Silas looming about.

"Are you ready to leave?" she heard Elijah ask as he walked into the room.

She nodded and grabbed her jacket that hung over the back of the chair and slipped it on. She smiled when she felt his arms wrap around her waist.

"You needn't worry about Bonnie," he said and buried his nose in her hair. "Kol won't take his eyes off her, you know that," he tried to assure her. "She will be fine and it will only be for a few days at the most."

Lucy turned in Elijah's arms and her arms looped around his neck. "And what if we can't find this Hayley girl?" she asked. "Then what?"

"Then we wait for Katerina to contact me," he answered, his hands gently messaging her hips. "She will want to use the cure to bargain her freedom from Niklaus," he told her. "And she will never face him on her own, she will come to me."

Lucy couldn't explain the unexpected feeling of jealousy that settled at the pit of her stomach. She was well aware of the history between Elijah and Katherine and even though Lucy and Elijah were by no means exclusive, she couldn't shake the feelings. She thought (or hoped) that it was just the idea of losing someone to Katherine that turned her stomach, after all, there was no one in this world who she hated more than Katherine Pierce.

She had been a burden and a leech on the Bennett family bloodline for years. Lucy was thankful that Katherine never managed to sink her claws into Bonnie.

"Are we going to find that hunter as well?" Lucy asked him, switching the topic from Katherine. "The one from the island."

"If we come across him, we come across him," he answered with a casual shrug. "He served his purpose by telling us about the werewolf and Katherine and where to look. I don't see a need to uphold Bonnie's end of the deal."

"He might come in handy in killing Silas," Lucy responded and she and Elijah pulled apart so she could grab a few last minute things before they left. "At least we know he won't have any ulterior motives with the cure, he won't trade it for anything or anyone."

Lucy believed the cure would be safe in no one's hands. They all had something or someone they would give it up for but the Brotherhood of the Five believed that the cure only served one purpose and that was to turn Silas mortal so he could be killed.

The cure would be safest in the hands of a hunter, and one without any ties to anyone.

"Do you not trust me with the cure?" Elijah asked her, a hint of a smile playing at his lips.

Lucy turned back around to face him. "Don't take it personally, I don't think I would trust anyone with it," she said to him. "I wouldn't even trust myself with it." She'd hand over the cure in a heartbeat for her cousin if she were in any kind of danger.

She knew Elijah would if any of his family were too, or if Rebekah came knocking with a pout on her lips, bring some tears to her eyes, telling her brother how much she missed being human and how she longed for a family of her own.

That cure needed to be for Silas and no one else.

"And you would trust something so precious in the hands of a stranger, one that nearly killed your cousin?" Elijah questioned.

"I would trust him with it not because of who he is but because of what," she replied. "And what he did to Bonnie –no matter how much I want to kill him for it- proves my point. Killing Silas is his destiny and he has obviously accepted that wholeheartedly and he won't allow anything to get in his way."

Lucy just wanted to get this Silas ordeal out of the way before things got completely out of hand. She didn't want anything to get in the way and she didn't want any stuff ups.

"The cure will be protected in our hands," Elijah promised her.

"You say that now but when Silas finds out we have it –and he will – the moment the life of Bonnie or one of your siblings get threatened, we'll be handing it over," Lucy responded with a look of doubt that had Elijah closing the distance between them.

His lips came down gently on hers in a simple kiss that left Lucy wanting more – much more. It was the effect he had on her from the moment they gave into their drunken temptations those months ago; everything he did left her wanting more - every touch, every kiss, and every glance.

It had surprised her. He had surprised her.

Another kiss was placed to her lips then he pulled back but not by much, just enough to look into her eyes. "I promise you, the only time Silas will touch that cure is when we will be killing him."

Lucy wished she could believe the sincerity that his voice and eyes held but she couldn't. She wasn't an optimist, she believed in the worst of outcomes. That way, she was always prepared.

xxx

"Good morning, sunshine," Caroline greeted with a chipper smile when she let herself into Bonnie's house late the next morning. She found Bonnie sitting in the living room watching something on the TV.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Bonnie asked curiously but grateful to see her friend. She'd been on her own since her dad left first thing this morning and Kol about an hour ago, something about needing to speak with Rebekah.

The blonde sat down next to Bonnie. "Kol actually sent me a message not long ago asking me to keep you company. Said you had an unexpected and unwanted visitor yesterday," Bonnie gave her a surprised look. "I know I was shocked too. He even said please," she said with a cheeky grin and then her arm went around Bonnie's shoulder and pulled her in for a side hug. "As if I even need to be asked to look after my best friend when there is a madman on the loose."

Bonnie smiled at her best friend. "Well, I'm glad you're here." She didn't want to be alone, not with Silas running around in Mystic Falls looking like God only knows who.

"I would ask you about it but I get the feeling you don't really want to talk about it," Caroline said and Bonnie nodded her head. "I'd also ask about Elena but I'm guessing if that went well you would have told me already," she added with a small frown.

"Something like that," Bonnie mumbled. "I will say one thing though, and that is Silas got me at a good time."

"He's going to try and get to us all by the sounds of it," Caroline replied. "But at least we know you are safe. He can't kill you if only you can drop the veil. You're important to him."

Bonnie knew Caroline was trying to comfort her with her words but being reminded that she was 'precious' to a two thousand year old vampire was a little unsettling. There was also the fact that there were so many others that were important to Bonnie and that meant many targets for Silas to use against her.

When Bonnie relayed her thoughts to Caroline, the blonde had no response; she only wore a solemn look on her face. She knew Bonnie was right. Caroline had heard the stories about Silas; she knew how desperate he was to have the veil to the other side dropped so he could pass on and be with his human love. If he didn't seem like such an evil creatures, Caroline might have thought his motives to be sweet.

"Then we better work quickly to find this cure so we can use it against him," she finally spoke and a positive smile crossed her face. "You shouldn't worry, Bon. We always find a way out of these situations. Always."

They had all lost someone who meant everything to them at one point or another but they always seemed to come out the other end.

"Now, moving on from Silas because it's depressing and slightly nerve wracking and onto more important issues. I'm hungry," she announced and stood up from the couch. "I'm going to go raid your kitchen and then we can talk about other things that don't include the possibility of the world ending."

Bonnie shook her head at her friend and a small smile played on her lips as she watched her friend skip to the kitchen.

It was only a few minutes before Caroline walked back out but her arms were empty. "Couldn't find anything you liked?" Bonnie raised a brow at her friend.

"I'm not happy with Kol, Bonnie," she said and Bonnie's brow knotted in confusion as she looked over Caroline. "I asked one simple thing from him and he couldn't do it. He had to ruin my plan but no matter, I always have a backup."

After momentary confusion at her friend's odd behaviour and words, Bonnie immediately sat up straight and alert as she realised who was standing in front of her. How else would Caroline being acting so strange? "Silas," she gritted out his name. "Where is Caroline?" she questioned him with a dark glare. "What did you do with her?"

Silas gave a sweet but sinister smile. "I did nothing with her," he said and turned pointedly in the direction of the kitchen.

Bonnie got up from the couch raced past Silas and into the kitchen and let out a strangled cry when she spotted Caroline on the floor, unmoving and lifeless.

"What did you do?" she yelled tearfully to Silas who entered the kitchen shortly after she did.

Bonnie dropped to her knees beside her friend but didn't know what to do. She didn't know what Silas did. So she just grabbed Caroline's hand and cradled her head in her lap.

"Our conversation needed to be private, dear. I can't have just anyone knowing our plans," he said and knelt down on the other side of Caroline. "But she is okay," he told her with a not so comforting smile that soon turned into a menacing glare. "Unless you don't do as I say, then she is a good as dead. They all will be. Your friends Matt and Elena, your cousin Lucy," the guttural tone coming out of Caroline's mouth sent shivers down Bonnie's spine. "And of course let's not forget your beloved Kol and your dear father. I can do things to all of them that will have them begging for the sweet relief of death."

Bonnie's breath got caught in her throat and more tears prickled her eyes. She held Caroline's hand tighter as a source of comfort and strength.

"Maybe then you will do as I say because there is only one way to see them all again – well most of them. Only Supernatural beings can go to the Other Side and only they can come back when the veil is dropped," Silas forced her to look up at him and the expression he wore softened and Caroline's voice turned back to normal. "But you can avoid all that from happening if you only cooperate and work with me."

"You'll leave my friends alone?" she asked him and he nodded.

"Of course. You have my word, Bonnie," he replied with a sincerity that she saw right through.

Not one ounce of her being trusted a word that Silas said but Bonnie believed he would have no reason to harm her friends and family if she did what he asked.

"Now," Silas started. "You need to listen to my instructions very carefully or our plan will not work," he said and rose to his feet, holding out a hand for her to take.

Bonnie gently placed Caroline's head back on the floor before she reached up and took the Devil's hand.

xxx

Kol Mikaelson raced inside Bonnie's house after he received her distressed phone call. She never told him what was going on but he had a fair idea what –or who he should say - it was about. He called out to her and her reply came from the kitchen.

"Bonnie, are you alright?" he asked and stopped short when he saw her sitting next to Caroline's body. "What happened?" he asked her and knelt down beside her and took her face in his hands.

"Silas," she answered him with a sniffle. "Caroline was here then she went into the kitchen and Silas came out."

Kol's eyes quickly ran over Bonnie's form, searching for any kind of injuries. "Are you okay?" his voice was soothing and his thumb brushed under her damp eyes.

She shrugged her shoulders. Physically she was fine but what Silas did to Caroline, what he threatened to do to others she loved and what he wanted her to do tomorrow night… emotionally she was a wreck.

"Can you help me get her to my room?" she asked him and turned back to face Caroline. "My dad might be home soon and I want to keep him out of all this."

Kol nodded and lifted Caroline into his arms and followed Bonnie to her room. "What did he do to her?" he asked. She looked and seemed fine, if anything it just looked like she was sleeping.

"He said it's all in her head. She thinks Silas staked her and she thinks she's dead," she tried to explain to Kol but even she didn't completely understand how Silas explained it. "He said she would wake up in a few hours or so."

When they reached Bonnie's bedroom, Kol carefully placed the blonde vampire on the bed. Bonnie placed a blanket over her body and moved her hair away from her face. She then turned back to Kol. "I need to talk to you about something," she said to him and took his hand to lead him from the room and back to the living room.

"What is it?" he asked as the two of them sat down on the couch.

Silas' words flowed through her mind as she thought of what to say to Kol.

" _If you even think about telling that vampire of yours our little plans, I'll have someone you love dead before the words even leave your mouth."_

Bonnie breathed in deeply before she spoke. "I need to get rid of this Expression magic. It's the only type of magic that can bring down the veil and if I no longer have it I'll be useless to him and that will at least buy us some time for Lucy and Elijah to return with the cure," she said to him.

Kol was silent for a moment as he mulled over her words. He thought it was a good idea. If she no longer had access to Expression magic then Silas wouldn't be able to use her to bring down the veil. But then she would risk angering him and Kol knew that Silas wouldn't think twice about killing her if he no longer had a use for her.

"How will you get rid of it?" he asked her.

"I contacted Lucy right after Silas left," –while he was still there, actually- "I thought maybe she knows what needs to be done to get rid of it," Bonnie answered. "And she does. She said she'd get back to me once she's contacted some witches who have dealt with Expression and cleansing it from a witch."

"Did she mention anything about finding the wolf girl?"

"Well, that's where we finally get some good news," she answered him and a tiny smile. "They found her in record time, just as she was about to be killed by one of Katherine's minions."

"Has she spoken yet?" Bonnie shook her head.

"Apparently Elijah is trying to charm her into talking but I think Katherine has spooked her a bit," she told him. "Lucy said that if she takes any longer to talk she'd put her in a trance and dig around inside her head to get what she wants."

Bonnie couldn't help the slight smile that appeared when she thought her cousin and Elijah. Talking about them made her realise they were the opposite of her and Kol. In a way, Lucy was similar to Kol (but with less love and enjoyment of murder and blood) and though she didn't like to compare herself to Elijah, she knew they shared similar qualities. Neither believed violence to be necessary nor did they partially enjoy when they had to be but they would do anything for those they love.

Kol let out a chuckle. "I honestly never would have thought of those two."

"I still don't fully understand it," she grinned and found herself leaning into Kol "Are you sure you're okay?" Kol asked her. She still looked a little shaken up.

She nodded and gave him a reassuring smile. "Apart from being a little frightened and nervous, I'm fine."

His hand covered her knee. He wished he could tell her that she didn't need to be afraid but that would be a lie. He'd be more worried if she weren't afraid of Silas.

Bonnie nearly jumped out of her skin when her phone rang. She answered it when she saw Lucy's name pop up on the screen.

"Hey, how did everything go?" she asked right away.

"All is good, baby cousin. I've spoken to an old friend who gave me a number of a witch who –along with her coven- actually specialises in cleansing witches from Expression," Lucy told her.

Bonnie didn't know whether to be relieved or worried.

"They will be arriving in Mystic Falls tomorrow night," Lucy added. "They will meet you in the woods and don't worry about looking for her, she'll find you. I've also told her about Kol because I figured it'd be impossible for him to stay away. She's not exactly okay with a vampire being present but as long as he keeps his distance and keeps his mouth shut there shouldn't be a problem."

Bonnie looked to Kol who looked a little relieved that he wouldn't have to deal with witches pissed off at a vampire being present at their ritual.

"Has Hayley said anything?" Bonnie asked when Lucy was done telling her about the ritual plans.

"She's started to open up, understandably, she's a little concerned about getting killed us and Katherine," she answered. "Hopefully we'll know everything she does by morning."

"What do we do if she doesn't know where Katherine is?" Bonnie asked.

"Try not to worry about this too much, okay Bonnie? We'll figure it all out," Lucy reassured her before the two of them said their goodbyes.

When Bonnie hung up the phone, she was already beginning to feel regret and guilt wash over her knowing what she would really be doing with the ritual. It was the last thing she wanted to do but she had no other choice. She couldn't stop Silas and it was either the death of twelve witches or the death of everyone she loved and it made her sick to her stomach how easily she made the decision to go through with it.

Bonnie didn't want to be a murderer. She didn't want to be the reason twelve witches would not return to their homes and their families. They would be going out of their way to help her and she was leading them to their demise.

xxx

The next day, Bonnie decided to distract herself with school. If she didn't she'd spend the entire day thinking about what was going to happen that night. Caroline dismissed Bonnie's behaviour as nerves for the upcoming ritual, but of course she didn't know the full story. She and Kol only knew what Silas wanted Bonnie to tell them.

Bonnie didn't even want the two of them to be there. She wouldn't be there to get 'cleansed' she'd be there to kill them when the time came, when they would link themselves together as one – connecting them. That is when she needed to kill the head witch.

She couldn't even believe she was thinking this over like some elaborate plan. It made her sick. This all just felt like a terrible nightmare to Bonnie, one she desperately hoped she'd wake from soon.

When the final bell of the day rang, Bonnie felt like her nerves would go into overdrive, she had a constant nauseating feeling in her stomach, her head was aching and her heart was pounding against her rib cage. She felt like she couldn't breathe.

She took her time leaving the school, she still had a few hours before she had to make her way to the woods and wait for the witches to show themselves to her.

Most of her wished they wouldn't turn up at all.

Bonnie saw Kol waiting for her when she exited the school. He smiled when he caught sight of her and it was enough to calm her nerves down just a bit. When she neared him he greeted her with a kiss to the cheek and opened the car door for her.

If Kol noticed her anxious and nervous demeanour the ride back to the mansion, he didn't speak of it and she was thankful for it. She didn't want to risk saying the wrong thing and revealing too much.

When they got there, Kol told her that they had the entire mansion to themselves (due to Lucy and Elijah being away and Klaus running off to some unknown place) but like always, they retreated to Kol's room and Bonnie immediately flopped down onto the bed.

Only seconds later she felt the bed sink either side of her head and lips underneath her chin, kissing up to her lips.

"What are you doing?" she asked against his lips but returned his kiss nonetheless. She placed one of her hands on his cheek and put the other on the back of his head, fingers threading through his hair.

"You're tense," he said against her mouth. "Let me help."

"How?" she asked as she began to lose herself in the kiss. He put all of his weight onto one hand when the other began to travel slowly slide down the side of her body.

Kol heard her sharp intake of breath when rubbed her through jeans.

"Oh," she breathed out when she got what he meant by helping her. "O-Okay." It had been so long since she had been touched by him and she was going to let herself enjoy it.

"Okay?" Kol questioned and added a bit more pressure. He needed a bit more than 'okay'.

He felt her nod her head. "Yeah," she sighed when his lips moved across her jawline.

She bit down on her bottom lip in anticipation as his hand skilfully undid the button and zipper of her jeans. She let out a soft moan when his hand slipped inside her pants and his fingers moved across the fabric of her underwear.

"Take them off," she told him and wriggled against his hand.

Kol complied and sat up so he could roll her jeans and panties down her legs (removing her boots first). He wasted no time in sliding back up her body, lips meeting hers while his fingers messaged her core.

She moaned and wrapped her arms around his neck and deepened their kiss, their tongues meeting in a fierce battle which Kol won when he slipped a finger inside of her. Their lips parted and Bonnie let out a gasp as he added another.

Her hips began to grind down on his hand and he curled his fingers inside of her.

Kol's mouth brushed against her neck, enjoying the feel of her pulse racing beneath his lips. It would be so easy for him to sink his fangs in and have a taste of her sweet blood. It would surprise her but she'd love it. He knew she would but he'd save it for another time but the thought alone made his pants unbearably tight.

He added a third finger and relished in the sound that escaped her lips even when she tried to suppress them by biting down on her lip.

"Let go, Beautiful," he whispered into her ear and gently bit down on the lobe, earning himself another sweet sound from her lips. "Come on, Bonnie," he urged and pushed his fingers in deeper.

Kol grinned when he felt her cum around his fingers and after a few more thrusts he removed them from her heat.

While her head was thrown back against the pillows, chest heaving up and down, Kol couldn't help himself and brought his fingers to his mouth. He gave a moan of his own when he tasted her on his tongue. He definitely wanted more, but that would also have to wait for another time.

"Feeling relaxed?" he asked her after he licked his fingers cleaned and he placed a gentle kiss to her lips.

Bonnie gave him a half-lidded look and grinned and she pushed Kol to lie on his back before she straddled his thighs, her hands resting on his chest. Her fingers went to his belt and quickly undid it then undid his jeans. He lifted his hips and helped her remove his jeans. They only got them as far as his knees before sunk down on him.

Bonnie let out a loud moan and Kol threw his head back against the pillows. She didn't move straight away, only being her second time she was still getting used to the feeling of him being inside of her (especially after such a long wait between) but she still remembered the feeling enough to miss it all those months he was away from her and now she just wanted to revel in it.

Kol's hands were gripping her hips and he waited for her to start moving again – needed for her to start moving. He would never get enough of being inside of her, being encased by her tight warmth. Three months he had been away from her, three months he was unable to touch her and now he had every intention of making up for it.

Her hips started to move and he let out a low moan. Her hands were on his chest as she moved herself up down on him. She bit down on her lip to repress her pleasured cries as he filled her completely but eventually she wasn't able to hold them back as she lost herself to their bodies and movements.

She cried out his name and he sat up and pulled her shirt up over her head and unclasped her bra. His mouth closed around one of her hardened nipples and bit and sucked on it while his hands held tightly onto her hips and began to control her pace. He switched from her fast pace to a slow, more controlled one, allowing himself deeper inside of her, driving the both of them insane with desire.

Bonnie's fingers gripped his hair and hugged his head to her chest as she began to already feel herself nearing. She gripped his hair and pulled his head up so she could crash their lips together in a searing kiss.

A few more hard thrusts and Bonnie came with Kol's name leaving her lips and that was enough to push Kol over the edge too.

The two of them stayed in that position for just a few minutes as they both recovered and Bonnie collapsed on the bed besides Kol and cuddled into his side – his arms immediately circling her.

"Gods you're amazing," he said into her hair. He honestly was not expecting that from her.

"That was incredible," she panted and planted a few kisses on his shoulder.

"I think we may have crossed that  _'alliance only'_  line you drew," he chuckled and Bonnie laughed.

"It was bound to happen," she replied and ran her fingers against his chest. She turned serious as she thought about what he said. "We're not just an alliance, are we?"

"We never were, Beautiful, we were always more than that- you just needed time," he said to her.

"I don't need time anymore," she told him and looked up at him, their eyes meeting. "I love you; I want to be with you."

He smiled down at her, one of his rare genuinely happy smiles that only very few people have ever seen and whenever Bonnie saw it, it left her completely breathless.

xxx

Bonnie walked through the woods and headed to where Silas said the Expression triangle would meet, he said she would know when she found it, she would feel it. She had Kol at her side –his fingers laced with hers- and Caroline was a few steps behind them.

Bonnie didn't know if it made her feel better or worse having them here and she was not looking forward to facing them after she did what she needed to do, Caroline especially, and having to tell them why.

She knew they'd both be disappointed that she didn't come to them but there was no way Bonnie was going to risk Silas killing someone.

She came to an abrupt stop when she felt a wave of energy wash over her and she knew that it was where the triangle met, it was where the third massacre needed to take place to finish the triangle.

"You okay?" Caroline asked her and placed a hand on Bonnie's shoulder.

The young witch nodded and looked around the site. "I think this will be a good place to do the ritual," she said to the two of them. "Lucy said that the witch would find me so I think now we just wait," she finished and stopped herself from letting out a frustrated sigh.

The last thing Bonnie want, was more waiting. She just wanted to get this over with and get Silas out of her life for good.

"Do we need to do anything to prepare?" Caroline questioned and Bonnie shook her head. "So we just wait?" she frowned when Bonnie nodded. She didn't really like being in the woods and waiting in the woods for an unknown amount of time wasn't ideal for the blonde.

"If you have somewhere more important to be then by all means, leave," Kol sneered at the baby vampire who then sent an icy to the Original.

"Kol," Bonnie groaned and gave him a look as if to say ' _shut the hell up'_. She was in no mood for to two of them to have one of their little disagreements.

"That was not what I meant," Caroline bite back at the Original.

"Could the two of you at least try to get along tonight?" Bonnie asked and shot both of them a look. "I can't handle the two of you being at each other's throats all night."

Kol muttered a quick apology and placed a kiss to the side of her head while Caroline put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Kol's ears pricked up when he heard the crushing of leaves and sticks. He protectively pulled Bonnie closer to him. "Someone's coming," he told the two of them and he stared off in the direction the person was coming from.

It was only a few more seconds before Caroline could hear them too.

The three of them waited in silence for the figure to emerge from the shadows of the dark woods – the only light being that of the moon shining down on them and the cell phone flashlight that Caroline couldn't resist turning on when they first entered the woods.

When the stranger was close enough for Bonnie to hear them, a woman in her mid-twenties to early-thirties with dark curly hair appeared from behind the trees. Her eyes cast disapprovingly onto Kol and Caroline before landing on Bonnie.

"You must be Bonnie," she spoke and Bonnie nodded. "I'm Aja." She gave a friendly smile to the other witch but paid no mind to the vampires on either side of her.

"Is it just you?" Bonnie asked her and looked around, a little confused (and worried). "I thought Lucy said you were part of a coven. I'm too strong for you to do this on your own."

Just as she finished speaking, other figures began to appear all around them. Bonnie did a quick head count, eleven and twelve including Aja. The exact amount Silas told her.

"We find it's best to travel as a full coven," Aja said and looked around to her friends.

Kol couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Witches," he scoffed under his breath. "Always with the dramatics…and they think we're bad?"

Caroline sniggered but Bonnie ignored them, all her focus on the witches around her. She didn't want to go through with this, she wanted to warn them, tell them to run as fast as they can as far as they can but she couldn't. It was selfish, she knew, but it was either them or her friends and family.

Aja finally turned her attention to Caroline and Kol, the friendly glint in her eye vanishing. "I understand that the two of you are here to support your friend but this is witch business, so keep your distance and stay out of our way."

"We understand," Caroline responded before Kol could cut in with a remark that could end up having him set alight by the twelve witches. "We just want to be here for her."

Aja gave a cut nod before she turned her attention back to Bonnie and held out her hands for her to take.

There was a moment of hesitation before Bonnie too the older witch's hands and she began to lead her away from Kol and Caroline. She looked over her shoulder to look back at them; Caroline gave Bonnie one of her bright, heart-warming smiles and while the look on Kol's face was blank, his eyes were an open book. She caught a good glimpse of them just before Aja pulled her away. He was worried, like he knew something was amiss.

"Now," Aja started, dragging Bonnie's attention away from Caroline and Kol. "I know you must be scared but I have dealt with Expression before," she said, her tone offering comfort and reassurance for the younger witch. "I have experienced it myself and I have cleansed many other witches of it."

"And with all of us together," she looked around at her coven. "We're going to help you. I won't lie to you, it's not going to pleasant but it will work."

Kol and Caroline stood off to the side of the circle the eleven witches formed around Bonnie and Aja. They listened to Aja instruct Bonnie to lay down and the older witch tied rope around Bonnie's wrist, trying them tightly to two heavy sticks that were imbedded deep in the ground.

"I really don't like the look of this," Caroline mumbled with a frown as she listened to Aja explain a few more things to Bonnie.

Kol silently agreed with the blonde beside him. He could hear the pounding of Bonnie's heart from where he stood and it was making him more nervous. He didn't know what this ritual would entail but if she needed to be restrained for it, it couldn't be very pleasant.

Caroline nervously began to chew on her fingernails as Aja asked Bonnie if she was ready to start to which the younger witch nodded.

"You need to call out to the Spirits, Bonnie," Aja said and her hands went to either side of Bonnie's head, holding it in place. "You need to let them back in."

Bonnie took in a deep breath and began to chant but it was quickly turned into a cry of pain that had Caroline flinching and Kol clenching his fists at his sides.

Of course this had to be something painful.

Bonnie's breathing picked up. "I can't," she almost struggled to say to Aja and tried to move away from the older witch but was tied in place by the bounds around her wrists. "It hurts." Another cry escaped her.

"That's because you've rejected the Spirits," Aja told her. "Expression has nearly consumed you."

Caroline ran a hand through her hair anxiously and she tried to look away from the scene before her but she couldn't. Every time Bonnie let out another pained scream, Caroline had to look back, had to make sure she was okay when it was clear she wasn't.

Aja's voice became more determined as she began to chant but all Kol could focus on was Bonnie's whimpers and broken pleads to stop. Most of his strength he used to keep himself grounded on the spot, he was so close to breaking up this ritual. He couldn't handle watching and listening to this.

"It's hard but it's for the best," Caroline's small voice spoke from beside him. His struggle wasn't going unnoticed by her. "Expression will destroy her, getting rid of it now will save her a lot of pain down the road."

Caroline didn't know who she was speaking to more, Kol or herself.

"She's too strong, she's fighting me," Aja announced to the surrounding witches. "Link with me! Lend me your power!" The other witches all dropped to their knees and began to chant alongside Aja.

The touches circling the site light up as the witches all linked together and Bonnie's screams got louder.

Caroline wasn't able to repress gasp – a sound mixed between horror and shock - as Bonnie shot up, her eyes open and pure white. "What is that?" Caroline gaped.

"Her magic fighting back," he answered her, a little unsure himself of what exactly was happening. A witch's eyes can change colour for many different reasons. Three hundred years ago he came across a witch that was so overwhelmed with dark magic her eyes would turn pitch black whenever she used.

"I need more strength!" Aja called out desperately to the others as she tried to pull Bonnie back down and get her under control.

The chanting around them became stronger and both of them could feel the intensity of the situation from where they stood. They could feel the strength of the magic surrounding them.

Caroline's hands covered her mouth as she tried to push down her emotions. Her eyes were closed but nothing could block out the screams of agony coming from her best friend. Kol, however, turned away from the scene and took a couple more steps away. He couldn't handle it. He was so close to snapping. His hand ran stressfully over his face.

But of course, it got worse (it always did) and the sweet scent of Bonnie's blood drifted towards the two vampires. Hunger wise, neither was affected by the smell but it was enough to make the thread Kol was hanging on snap.

"Stop!" they heard Stefan's voice yell out as he suddenly appeared before them.

The interruption quickly broke Kol out of his haze and he and Caroline wore watching expressions of confusion at Stefan's sudden appearance and Aja looked up from Bonnie with an angered look directed towards the new arrival.

"Stefan, what are you doing here?" Caroline questioned and moved to stand next to him.

"This is no place for you, vampire," Aja seethed towards him. "This is witch business."

"You need to stop this," he begged to the witches, not yet noticing Caroline or Kol. "She's planning to kill you, she's working with Silas."

"What?" Kol snapped and sped to Stefan's side. "What do you mean she's working with Silas?"

"This is the third point to the Expression triangle, she kills the witches then she gains full access to Expression," Stefan explained quickly to the both of them before he turned back to the witches just in time to see Aja pull out a knife. "What are you doing?"

Aja snapped her head back to the three vampires. "If she's working with Silas then she is already lost," she said to them, her voice grim. "No one can help her," and with a wave of her hand the three of them went flying back.

Kol got back to his feet quicker than the others and just in time to see Aja raise the knife above Bonnie's chest. A ferocious and demonic sounding growl escaped him and he felt his fangs descend. The Original vampire made a move but before he got anywhere he was roughly thrown off his feet and crashed against one of the trees.

Klaus appeared above him when he hit the forest floor. Another growl escaped Kol as he jumped to his feet and gave his brother a warning glare.

"I am sorry for this, brother, but better she die than Silas get what he wants," Klaus said less than sincerely.

Kol was slammed back into the tree, this time by both Klaus and Stefan. He struggled to get free of them but the two of them managed to overpower him and keep him pinned to the tree.

"Klaus, let me go!" he growled viciously to his brother. "You do this and I'll make the rest of your miserable immortal life a living hell. You should fear me more than you should Silas!"

"I'd rather you make my lifetime a misery than to have the dead walk the earth," Klaus gritted out, putting all his strength into keeping his brother restrained.

"Stefan, she's your friend," Kol turned to the other vampire. "She has done so much for you, kept you alive time and time again. Is this really how you are going to repay her sacrifices?" Kol could see the anguish flash through the Salvatore's eyes but he didn't let up.

"It's not what I want," Stefan replied regretfully.

Klaus and Stefan were so caught up in containing Kol that they both forgot about Caroline standing only a few feet away from them. Her blue eyes kept flickering between the three vampires and her best friend at the mercy of a witch.

Caroline knew what was at stake but she didn't really have time to think about because all she saw was Aja readying to plunge that sharp knife into her best friend's chest and all she heard was the agonising cry coming from Bonnie.

Before Caroline knew it, she had grabbed Aja's ark and stabbed the witch in the chest with her own knife and pushed the dying witch to the floor. She heard Klaus yell out but she was far too busy watching the witches surrounding her fall to the ground and then it hit her what she had just done.

She had just killed twelve people.

With their distraction, Kol easily broke free of Stefan and Klaus' hold and raced towards Bonnie and dropped to her side. One of his hands went to the side of her face, the other on her waist and he softly called out to her, asking her to open her eyes.

When she did, they were still that pure white. "The triangle is complete," she said in a way that reminded him of the way Silas appeared as her.

Her eyes closed again and her head lolled against his hand. She had passed out.

"We need to get her out of here," Kol said as Caroline knelt down to get Bonnie's wrists out of their restraints. Kol's arms went underneath her knees and the back of her shoulders, lifting her off the ground and cradled her in his arms.

"Klaus and I will take care of the bodies," Stefan said to him, trying to come across as helpful and Kol responded with a dark glare.

Klaus rolled his eyes at Stefan volunteering them to clean up the mess. "Why? It's not our mess." That earned him a look from the young blonde vampire who was already feeling pretty crappy about what just happened.

xxx

When the three of them got back to Bonnie's house Kol carefully laid Bonnie out on her bed and leant down to kiss the top of her head before he stood up straight.

"I'm going to go back to Klaus and Stefan," he announced to Caroline. "Let me know when she wakes up."

The blonde nodded her head before she took a seat on the edge of Bonnie's bed.

Kol gave her an inquisitive glance, her mood had dramatically decreased since before the ritual and obvious he knew why that was but he couldn't understand why. He knew he and Caroline were very different, but he noticed she shared a lot of similarities with Rebekah in her early vampire years.

Rebekah sometimes could have been distraught after a kill and completely inconsolable. His sister was such a gentle soul as a human and becoming a vampire and constantly having that urge to kill was the worst kind of hell for her. Eventually she began to adapt to her nature and accept it whereas Kol accepted it from the beginning and loved every minute of it.

Killing came natural to him and he found it to be empowering. There was almost nothing better than the feeling of holding someone life in the palm of his hands and being able to decide whether they live or die. Or being able to bend them to his will with a few words (sometimes he didn't even need compulsion).

But unlike Rebekah, Kol could see that Caroline enjoyed her vampire life and from what he has heard from Bonnie, it has made her a stronger more confident person. Given the chance she wouldn't give it up like Rebekah would. But she didn't like the killing, she didn't like the bloodlust (or perhaps she didn't like that she liked it) and she didn't like the feeling of being a monster.

"You shouldn't feel bad about what you did," he found himself telling her. "We're all capable of terrible things when someone we love is in danger. It's in all of us, it's a natural instinct."

"I don't feel bad for saving her," she responded. "But I still can't help but hate the fact that twelve people had to die."

Caroline didn't blame Bonnie, she didn't even blame herself. She just hated the situation that they were put into.

"Letting Bonnie die was not an option," Kol couldn't help but say and Caroline agreed with him. "I would have done the same thing if I was able to. I was about to."

Kol wished he was able to. He would have loved to kill that witch. He may have even drawn it out a bit, it's not like those other witches could do much. The moment they all linked with Aja they became powerless.

"I wish you did do it instead of me," she said. At least then she wouldn't have to deal with the almost overwhelming sense of feeling like the one thing she never wanted to be like.

"It will get easier," he told her. "You might not want to hear this, but believe me the day will come when you will like it. It happens to every vampire because it's who we are. You need to stop judging yourself by human standards because you aren't human anymore. You now live by an entirely new set of rules."

Caroline finally looked up at him.

"You don't have to kill," he continued. "But you also don't need to feel bad when you do. Vampires kill, it's what we do. For us, it's not a sin against nature because it is our nature. You can spend your entire lifetime trying to fight it or you can accept it and enjoy yourself. Life's too long to make a misery out of it."

Caroline gave him a small smile. "Why are you not being an asshole?" She was curious about the sudden change of attitude towards her. Usually he looked like her wanted to rip her throat out.

Kol's eyes landed on Bonnie. "Because I love her and I want to make her happy and what's that saying? You get on the best friend's good side or something?"

Caroline arched a brow and gave him a bold look. "You're not on my good side." A few comforting words were not going to make up what he's done in the past (to her and Bonnie). She still hasn't forgiven him for snapping her neck. She didn't care if he was out of his mind or not.

Kol shrugged carelessly. "Fair enough." It didn't really bother him anyway. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go beat the hell out of my brother and maybe Stefan too…I'll see how I feel when I get there."

Caroline spoke up just before he left Bonnie's room. "I know you don't really care about getting on my good side and all, but all I ask is that you be good to her. If you're the one that truly makes her happy then I guess I can get over her crappy taste in guys."

Kol didn't say anything back but he gave her a simple head nod before leaving Bonnie's room and made his way out of her house. He left his car in her drive-way and opted for running back to where Klaus and Stefan had chosen to bury the twelve witches.

xxx

"Baby brother!" Klaus greeted with false joy when Kol arrived. "How nice of you to join us, we have an extra shovel if you care to help."

Stefan grumbled under his breath, he knew that Klaus was so close to getting decapitated with the shovel he just threw at Kol's feet.

"What are you doing here?" Kol asked him. "I thought you left to hunt down the hybrid who took your toys away?"

"I was, but then I received an urgent call from dear Stefan here informing me of what was going on," he responded with his usual grin that Kol now hated. "And well…. I just had to come and help."

Kol turned to Stefan. "How did you know she was working with Silas?"

Stefan answered the Original, unlike Klaus, he didn't want to be on Kol's bad side any more than he already way. "Caroline warned us about Silas hanging around, she told us what he was able to do and make people see. She also told me about Bonnie wanting to get rid of Expression. I don't know why but I decided to do some reading on Silas. I read about the sacrifices that needed to be made in order for him to achieve what he wants," he said to Kol. "Three sacrifices had to take place, 12 human, 12 demons and 12 witches. It made me think of what Caroline, that a coven of witches were coming to help Bonnie. It just clicked."

"And luckily for him, I wasn't too far away," Klaus interrupted. "We figured out the three points of the Expression triangle and it led us to exact spot where your darling witch was planning a massacre."

Kol had more questions but none of them could be answered by the two vampires in front of him. Only Bonnie could give him the answers and right on schedule he got a text from Caroline telling him that Bonnie had woken up.

He turned to his brother. "This" -he motioned between them- "isn't over. Leave town and I'll hunt you down and drag you back."

"Anything else?" Klaus questioned his brother with a bored expression on his face that managed to piss Kol off even more.

"Just one thing for now," Kol smirked and sped forward, hand gripping the sides of his face and twisting until he heard the satisfying crack of his neck. Kol let his brother's body fall harshly to the floor and he kicked him once in the stomach –cracking a few of his ribs- for good measure.

Stefan let out an annoyed groan when Kol disappeared. Now he had to bury the witches himself.

xxx

When Kol got back to Bonnie's house he was relieved to see she was finally awake but before he got to see her Caroline pulled him aside.

"Don't even bother asking her what happened," she said to him. "She doesn't remember."

Kol gave the blonde a confused look. "What?"

"Whatever happened has wiped her memory of the last few days. The last thing she remembered was being in that cave with Jeremy," she gave a sigh. "I had to tell her that Jeremy was dead. She's devastated… again."

Kol ran a hand through his hair. "What did you tell her?"

"I told her everything. I told her that she got stabbed and Katherine was on the island, fed Jeremy to Silas and stole the cure. Told her you saved her and got her out of there, you guys came home, Elena's humanity got turned off, Silas appearing to her and the ritual," she said then took a breath. "Seriously it's been like three days and all that's happened? And I think I overwhelmed her a little bit."

"You can leave if you want," he said to her. He didn't mean it a snide way and he could tell she was still barely holding herself together after killing the witches – even though she was doing a good job at hiding it. "I can look after Bonnie."

"I don't want her to think I resent her for what happened because I don't," she said. As much as Caroline did want to be there for Bonnie, she did kind of want to be on her own to process what had happened.

"She won't think that," Kol replied knowingly. "She'll understand."

Kol waited downstairs as Caroline went and said her goodbyes to Bonnie, giving the two of them a bit of privacy. When the blonde emerged, she gave him a relatively friendly smile before she headed for the front door.

After Caroline left, Kol walked into Bonnie's room, he sighed when he saw her grimoire open on her bed and she cross-legged, flicking through the pages. He knew what she was looking for, a way to fix what had happened.

She didn't notice him until he sat down next to her on the bed. He closed the old book and pushed it off the bed - listening to the  _thud_  it made as it hit the ground.

His hand touched her face; resting on her jawline he turned her head to face him and his lips brushed hers. It was soft and slow, Kol took his time kissing her. His other hand went up to hold her neck.

She moaned softly against his lips and it brought memories of earlier that day to Kol's mind. He wanted so badly for her to remember what had happened between them and more importantly their conversation afterwards.

It had been exactly what he wanted- to finally be together without any secrets or lies and it's been snatched away from them. Kol was tired of being just there for her, he thought that would be enough but it wasn't. He needed her.

He pulled back to let her breathe. "Four times now I've almost seen you die," he whispered against her lips. One time he was the cause. His lips pressed against hers again.

"Kol," she sighed and pulled away from him. "I'm sorry but I'm still not ready for us to be together again."

Kol wondering what exactly it was in the seventy two hours they had been back that made her ready for them this afternoon…

He nodded his head anyway and let go of her. He tried to tell himself that it wasn't going to be for long she was back in his arms.

xxx


	31. Aftermath

Lucy Bennett couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She couldn’t believe that Bonnie helped Silas to orchestrate the third massacre to complete the Expression triangle. It was impossible. They must have been mistaken. Her cousin would never do anything like that. She wouldn’t lure twelve witches to their deaths.

But she had. Bonnie had tricked her. Made her think she wanted to get better, wanted to get rid of the Expression. Lucy didn’t want to believe this. There had to be something else to it that they weren’t aware of.

Kol’s voice spoke through the speaker on Elijah’s phone that was placed in the middle of the coffee table. “I’m still not quite sure what exactly happened or why and now she doesn’t remember anything past her and Jeremy finding Silas in his tomb.”

“Do you think that could have been part of the ritual or from the completion of the triangle?” Elijah asked Lucy who shrugged in response.

“Could be from the interruption of the ritual or a combination of either…or maybe Silas doesn’t want her to remember,” she offered to Elijah. “So she doesn’t remember a thing?” she asked to Kol over the phone.

“Nothing,” came his reply. “Caroline had to explain everything to her. She didn’t understand why she did it, she didn’t know what made her do it and she didn’t know about Silas being in town even though she saw him the day before.”

“There is no doubt Silas had something to do with Bonnie wanted to complete the Triangle,” Elijah said, though most of it was for Lucy’s sake who he could see was struggling with the news.

“Whatever he did, he had her pretty shaken up,” Kol told them. “I just wish I knew what he did to make her agree to what he said.”

“Is she okay, though?” Lucy made sure to ask, she was still concerned for her cousin’s well-being.

“I think so,” Kol replied but both Elijah and Lucy could tell that he was a bit unsure of Bonnie’s state himself. “She’s confused but I think she’ll be fine. I’m going to check on her later on.”

“Keep her safe, Kol,” Lucy said. Bonnie would be in a vulnerable position right now, perfect for Silas for get inside her head and now with the amount of power she now had access to, it made things more dangerous for everyone.

“Of course,” Kol replied. “Has the wolf told you anything useful yet?” Kol asked them, wondering about the progress they have made with finding Katherine and the cure.

Everything now depended on them getting the cure from the doppelganger and once they did everything would hopefully start to run more smoothly.

“She gave us the name of a town that she heard Katerina speak of,” Elijah answered. “She’s not entirely sure if she’s there but Lucy and I will be heading their shortly to see.”

“And if she’s not?”

“Let’s just hope that she is,” Lucy jumped in. She prayed that Katherine would be there; she didn’t feel like playing a game of hide and seek with the world’s most annoying vampire. “And let’s hope she gives up the cure without a fight.”

Surely Katherine wouldn’t believe she could win against an Original vampire and a Bennett witch but then again she always had something up her sleeve, usually in the form of a deal of some kind.

Kol and Elijah continued to talk about their plans but Lucy tuned out of their conversation. Her mind wouldn’t stop thinking about Bonnie and what she tried to do. Why couldn’t she tell her what was going on? Even if Silas was listening in while she made the call why couldn’t she have sent her a text when he left?

What did he do that had her that terrified that she agreed to murder witches - her own kind? And now they would never know because of the ritual messing with her head and erasing everything that happened since she came back from the island.

“Are you okay?” Elijah looked down at Lucy once he hung up the phone and brought her out of her thoughts. His eyes were filled with concern for her and she let out a heavy sigh and placed her head in her hands.

She shook her head. “I just can’t get my head around this,” she said to him. “I can’t believe my cousin would do something like this. It sounds nothing like her.”

“None of us know the full story,” he replied and walked around the coffee table. “There most likely is more to it that we don’t know. Perhaps Silas threatened her to do it. She was distressed when she rang you yesterday after Silas appeared to her; it is likely that she wasn’t going along with this willingly.”

Lucy lifted her head back up and chewed on the inside of her cheek. “I can’t bear the thought of Bonnie going along with something like that on her own free will or working with someone like Silas.”

Elijah took the seat next to her and placed a hand on her knee. “Kol said it; Silas was toying with her before she made that call to you. He has done or said something, I know it. And you know deep down that Bonnie would never do something like that without an extreme reason for doing so.”

Lucy shook her head and got to her feet. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore,” she requested to him. “Let’s just get this cure and get this over with before it get any worse,” she said to Elijah, wanting to drop the topic of Silas messing with her cousin all together.

“We should leave then,” Elijah said and followed her lead. “If we leave now we should reach our destination by mid-afternoon.”

“Fair warning, if she doesn’t give this cure up, I’m killing her,” Lucy said to Elijah before picking up her bag and walking out of their hotel room.

The Bennett witch was no longer in a mood to play around after what she had just heard and combine that with her hate of Katherine, things could get very, very ugly very fast.

xxx

Bonnie met Caroline at the grill around noon that day. The blonde smiled up at the brunette when she sat down across from her at their usual table.

“How are you doing today?” Caroline asked her with a friendly but wary smile. They hadn’t spoken since Caroline left last night and the vampire wasn’t sure how Bonnie was handling everything.

“Okay, I guess,” Bonnie answered with a simple shrug but she was more concerned with how Caroline was doing. She was the one that killed twelve people just to save her. “I’m more worried about you than me, to be honest.”

“I’m fine,” Caroline said with a convincing smile but Bonnie could see through her friend’s happy exterior and sent the vampire a look.

“I think we should talk about this, Caroline,” Bonnie said and looked down at the table with guilty eyes. Caroline was in this situation because of what she did and she couldn’t even remember why she did it in the first place. She didn’t know why she led those witches out there for Silas and why she agreed to attempt to kill them.

Caroline sighed and swirled her straw around in her drink. “I’m not really okay,” she admitted. “But I’m still fine,” the vampire added, this time with a real smile. “Because my best friend is not dead.”

Although Caroline would never admit it to anyone out loud, what Kol had said to her the previous night had helped her but she still couldn’t stop the guilt. But the thing was she felt guilty because she didn’t feel guilty. She saved her best friend and she’s not sorry for that.

Bonnie responded in kind with a smile of her own. “I know it might be kind of weird to say, but thank you for saving my life.”

“I’d do it again if I had to,” Caroline replied back seriously. She’d do anything to protect her friend just like she knew Bonnie would do anything to protect her. She might not like what had to be done, but she’d do whatever it took.

“Let’s hope you don’t,” Bonnie said back in a light tone. “Now, what do you say we get some lunch?” Bonnie suggested and picked up one of the menus (why, she didn’t know. She knew the thing back to front by now).

Caroline’s face brightened and she picked up her own. “Sounds good to me!” she grinned. Since turning, Caroline found that she ate a lot more food than normal but it kept the murderous cravings away and she never had to worry about gaining a few pounds so she let herself eat as much as she wanted to.

“Have you heard from Tyler since you came back?” Bonnie asked her friend after the waitress left with their order.

Caroline shook her head tried her best to hide the sadness she felt whenever she thought of Tyler. “We decided it was best to cut contact, that way Klaus had no way of finding Tyler through me,” she said to Bonnie.

“Did Lucy’s spell have any effect?”

Caroline shrugged her shoulders. “We don’t really know. We thought as soon as your barrier spell would break, Klaus would leave right away and try to find Tyler but he never left Mystic Falls.”

“At least Tyler’s no doubt gotten a safe distance away from here and Klaus,” Bonnie replied, trying to ease Caroline a little bit. “And considering the Silas situation, I don’t think Klaus has any intentions of leaving just yet.”

The blonde vampire let out a soft sigh. “It should be the other way around though,” she said. “Tyler should be that one here and Klaus should be the one in God knows where. Jeremy was Tyler’s friend and he wanted nothing more than to come back here so he could say goodbye but he didn’t even get to do that.”

Klaus had been a nightmare in Tyler’s life since the moment the hybrid came back to Mystic Falls on Senior Prank Night.

Bonnie gave a tiny giggle. “It was weird how those two went from beating the hell out of each other to being friends.”

Caroline nodded in agreement, a tiny smile playing on her lips.

After his falling out with Matt, Tyler and Jeremy made a surprising connection. When everyone turned their back on Tyler when he was dealing with the sire bond, Jeremy was there and when Jeremy was dealing with his break up with Bonnie and wanting to progress with his hunter heritage, Tyler was there for him but it made Caroline smile to know that Tyler would have said his goodbyes to Jeremy in his own special way. Something that was meaningful for the two of them.

“How are you handling that, by the way?” Caroline asked her about Jeremy’s death. “It was hard the first time but having to go through it a second?”

One of the worst things Caroline had ever had to do was to tell Bonnie that Jeremy was dead. The look that crossed her face was something the blonde would never forget no matter how much she wanted to.

“It doesn’t feel like he’s gone,” Bonnie said and cast her eyes down again. “I don’t know if what’s happened hasn’t really hit me yet or maybe what happened last night with the ritual has messed up my mind” -more than just the memory loss bit- “but everything feels different.”

“I guess that’s natural,” Caroline replied. “You never actually saw him die and having your memory wiped also got rid of how you felt about it after you found out, it’s bound to mess you up a bit.”

Bonnie gave an unsure shrug. “I just keep trying to remember what happened since I got back but I keep coming up blank.”

It was extremely frustrating for the young witch.

“The more you try to force yourself to remember, the more you won’t,” Caroline told her. “If your memories do come back, you can’t force it. It’ll just happen.”

“That ‘if’ doesn’t sound too promising,” Bonnie sulked and folded her arms on the table.

“Pouting about it won’t do any good either,” Caroline playfully chided her. “Just try not to think about it and hopefully something will happen that will jog your memory then everything will be all good.”

“What if this is something Silas planned? For me to lose my memory so he can do…I don’t know what,” Bonnie wondered and bit down on her lip in a nervous manner.

Caroline didn’t know if Silas was involved in Bonnie’s memory loss. The ritual took a sudden change from the witches wanting to help to wanting to kill her and Caroline thought that was what jumbled up Bonnie’s head.

“Stop worrying about it,” Caroline urged her friend. “I know it’s hard but try otherwise you’re going to freak yourself out and with the amount of power you’re probably packing right now, that wouldn’t be good for anyone.”

Although she came across as humorous, both girls knew she was right. Bonnie had absolutely no idea how much power she had access to because of last night and not knowing was dangerous.

xxx

“So what is this big news that just couldn’t wait little brother?” Damon asked when he met his brother in the parlour room of the Salvatore Boarding house. He had been out all night trying to control Elena while she was out on murderous rampages when he got the call from his brother telling him to get back to the house.

“The cure,” was all he had to say to get Damon’s full attention. They had long discussed the use the cure would have in their current predicament concerning Elena.

“What about it?” Damon asked and poured himself and his brother a drink.

“We have our chance to get it,” Stefan said with a smirk and Damon gave him an intrigued look.

“Did you finally manage to track down Katherine?”

Stefan shook his head. “Didn’t need to,” he told his brother. “Elijah and Lucy have done it for us. I heard from Klaus last night that the two of them had left to find her. Any day now they will return with the cure.”

“And all we need to do is steal it from them and then all our problems will be solved,” Damon finished off for his brother, the two of them wearing matching smirks. “It’s not going to be easy getting it from the two of them, you realise that?”

“Then we find a way to distract them long enough for us to find where they have hidden it,” Stefan suggested and sat down on the couch as possible ideas played out in his mind.

“No doubt they will keep it on them, most likely Elijah,” Damon said and sat across from Stefan. “And we haven’t exactly had a good track record when it comes to trying to best him.”

Only once had they beat Elijah and that was when Elena tricked him and daggered him at the lake house but they sure as hell were not going to include Elena in these plans. She’d do everything in her power to stop them and with her current non-caring and violet attitude, she probably could.

The two of them were well aware of how much Elena was against being human again but they knew it was for the best and it happened to be the only way to turn her humanity back on since turning them off broke the sire bond.

“What about Lucy?” Stefan put forward. “It would be a long shot but I think we’d have a better chance getting to her than Elijah?”

Damon arched a brow at his brother. “Getting to her as in talking and convincing her or getting to her as in…” he trailed off and dragged his thumb across his throat.

“We’ll talk to her first, maybe she’ll understand,” Stefan responded and Damon shook his head.

“Lucy is all about protecting Bonnie and doing what’s best for her,” he said. “Giving us the cure so we can give it to Elena doesn’t really help Bonnie in any way.”

“But Elena is Bonnie’s best friend,” Stefan countered. “And Bonnie will do anything to help her.”

“Was that before or after Elena blamed her for practically every bad thing that had happened to her?” Damon responded with sarcasm.

“Bonnie knew she didn’t really mean that.”

“You think she thinks that,” Damon quipped; the blue eyed Salvatore knew that Bonnie would have taken that comment to heart. “Anyway, back on point, I think we’ll reach a dead end with Cousin Bennett.”

The two brothers were so caught up in their scheming that neither of them sensed or heard Elena listening in to their every word from just outside the room.

xxx

Kol didn’t know how Bonnie would feel about him coming through the window since her little memory lapse so instead he found himself knocking on her front door later that afternoon. After last night, he wasn’t very sure where he stood with her. Everything felt different when she said she needed space and things between them turned slightly awkward for the remainder of the night until she basically told him to leave her alone when she said she was still tired from what happened.

He left but he didn’t go back home. He didn’t want to face his brother, he was still too annoyed and he didn’t feel like getting into a brawl with Klaus which would no doubt be what happened when the two came face to face next.

Instead, Kol did something he hadn’t done since he returned back to Mystic Falls and to Bonnie; he went out on a little hunt. It had relieved him of some stress and he felt somewhat refreshed afterwards.

“Hey,” Bonnie greeted when she opened the door. “Since when do you knock?”

Kol cracked a smile as he stepped inside. She was in a visibly better mood today. He was glad. “How are you feeling?” he asked her as she led him towards the living room.

“Better,” she replied and they sat down. “Still a little confused and a little guilty about what I tried to do but better.” Seeing Caroline earlier had really helped. “I’m sorry for how I was last night, you know, ignoring you and such. I was just trying to comprehend what had happened and trying to remember. I wasn’t trying to push you away; I just wanted to be on my own.”

“You don’t need to apologise,” he told her and gave her a small smile.

She gave a small shrug. “But still, I should have just told you I wanted to be alone instead of giving you the cold shoulder.”

“I’m used to getting a dagger in the heart when I got too irritating so don’t worry about it,” he said with a chuckle.

There had been occasions over the last ten centuries when Klaus would stick a dagger in his heart for a few hours or days just because he got too annoying.

“Why did Klaus keep a dagger in you for over a century?” Bonnie asked him when she realised that she didn’t know the story behind it. “And why did he keep Finn away for nine hundred years?”

“It was his own sick and twisted way of keeping this messed up family together,” Kol told her. “How Finn got daggered in the first place is another story but Klaus knew he was losing him so he left it in.”

“And what about you?”

“I stuck by Klaus, there were times that I went out on my own or with Rebekah but we always came back to him,” he said. “When Elijah found Katherine all those years ago, Rebekah and I were on the other side of the world so that’s why we never met her.”

“So if Klaus daggers you to keep you close, does that mean you tried to get him out of your life?” Bonnie questioned him, growing really curious behind the reason of Klaus leaving Kol in that coffin for so long.

“Something like that,” he said and rested the back of his head against the back of the couch while Bonnie moved to face him, sitting side-on on the couch. “I wanted to find my father.”

“But I thought he wanted to kill you all,” Bonnie jumped in. “Why would you want to find him?”

“My father and I had always had a bond; and I thought that maybe I could get through to him. Get him to end his hunt for us.

“Esther told me that you were his favourite,” she said, remembering the night she first met Esther and she explained (almost) everything to her.

Kol cracked a smile and let out a quick laugh. “I always thought Henrik was his favourite child. He could do no wrong in father’s eyes.”

Bonnie recalled Esther talking about her youngest child, Henrik - the one who was killed by the wolves.

“But yes, my father and I were close,” Kol continued before she could even ask a question about Henrik. “And it made his hatred for what we became difficult for me to deal with, Finn as well so the two of us stuck together our first years as being vampires.”

Bonnie tilted her head at him, from what she had seen he and Finn didn’t seem at all close.

“Anyway, I made the mistake of telling Rebekah of my plans and she couldn’t help but run back to Klaus because it was just the three of us at the time. Then of course Klaus took it upon himself to decide that it would be in the best interest of all of us to stick a dagger in my heart,” his tone was bitter and Bonnie knew his relationship with Klaus was ever so slowly falling apart.

The witch wasn’t sure if that had to do with her or if it was something that had been a long time coming but if she had to guess, she’d say a bit of both.

“And Rebekah never tried to take the dagger out?” she knew Elijah would have tried if he were there, when he came to them he wanted to seek vengeance on them because he thought Klaus had gotten rid of them for good.

Kol shrugged his shoulders and moved to mirror her position. “I honestly don’t know what happened after that. I just woke up one hundred years later.”

“Why do you still keep him in your life?” Bonnie couldn’t help but ask. “He put you in a coffin for a century, killed your mother, killed your father and treats you like crap.”

Rebekah had already cut him loose so why couldn’t Kol? Rebekah and Kol were the closer ones so why were they the ones currently fighting?

“I guess its habit,” he answered her. “He’s been in my life for so long and sometimes I hope he turns back into who he once was.”

Deep down, Kol disliked the power hungry being his brother had become. He acted like the entire world was against him when it was him that made it that way in the first place.

Kol was lost in his thoughts and memories when Bonnie’s eyes flickered down to his lips and she immediately flashed back to the kissed they had shared last night. Even though she pulled away, she still enjoyed it. It was different from their previous kisses, it was slower and softer.

She wanted to feel that again.

But Kol turned away just before their lips met. He didn’t know if he could keep doing it anymore. He thought it would be easy to be around her without being with her but he was wrong. And after yesterday, after they finally got back together - they got broken up again.

He didn’t know if it made him selfish to think that way, but it was hard.

And when she tells him that she still needs time, then tries to kiss him a day later…it just leaves him confused. Up until last night he was one hundred per cent sure she still loved him (she told him so herself) but now he wasn’t so sure and he didn’t understand how that was.

“I want to ask you something and I need you to be honest with your answer,” he said and his hands covered hers in her lap. She nodded her head, pushed down the slight feeling of rejection and waited for him to continue. “I know last night you said you still need time and that’s fine, I get that…”he trailed off, not really knowing how to word what he wanted to say. “I guess I just need to know where you stand in terms of us.”

Bonnie was a little taken back by his question. This didn’t really feel like the right moment to start discussing their relationship and where they were with it.

“Why are you asking this?” she questioned and her brow furrowed in confusion.

 “Because I think that it might be the best for both of us to give each other some space,” he said to her, his eyes looking away from her. “If I’m constantly around you then it’s only going to confuse you to what you really want and it’s going to get hard for me to be around you and not know where I stand with you.”

“But what about everything that’s going on now? Silas?”

Why would he do this now? With everything that happened just yesterday night, it seemed a little stupid to keep their distance from one another.

“I’m not going anywhere, Bonnie,” he told her and squeezed her hand reassuringly. “And I’m still going to help get rid of Silas. I just think we shouldn’t spend as much time together in between,” he finished with a small frown.

“Why now, though?” she questioned. There had to be a reason to why he was doing this now instead of a few days ago or something.

He didn’t answer her but he let go of her hand and stood up from the couch.

“Did something happen between us that I forgot?” Kol shook his head but Bonnie wasn’t buying it. He was hiding something from her. “Kol, if something did happen I think I have a right to know.”

“Nothing happened, it’s just something that’s been on my mind,” he said and looked down at her. He didn’t want to tell her what happened. It’d just complicate things further and he didn’t want that.

“Well, it’s not rally far to ask right now,” she said to him and stood up as well. “Whatever happened last night has completely messed up my head and I don’t know where I stand with anything. I don’t even really know what happened.”

Caroline had tried to explain things to her the best she could, but Bonnie couldn’t put together the pieces. It was like more was missing.

“And to be honest I am kind of terrified of what’s happening,” she confessed to him. “Apparently I wanted to kill twelve witches and now I have access to power I don’t even know if I can control.”

One thing Bonnie was certain about was how Kol had become her rock since he returned and she didn’t really want to lose that.

“I told you that I’m still going to be around,” he told her and placed his hand on the side of her face. “I’m not going to leave you to face this alone. But until Lucy and Elijah return with a cure and we come up with a plan, I think we need to keep our distance. Go back to that ‘just allies’ thing we agreed to.”

“That’s not fair, Kol,” she said softly and her small hands wrapped around his arm, one around his wrist and the other mid-forearm.

“I know,” he replied and leant forward to place a gently kiss to her forehead.

This wasn’t his way of forcing a decision out of her; it was his way of protecting himself (and her). He had been hurt by her once and he did not want to go through that again. Kol still thought about what she had done and even though he had gotten over it (or at least he liked to think he had) and forgiven her, it was something that still hurt.

When he first came back, he had no idea that this would get so difficult and though he knew the end result would be worth the difficulties and heartache (if it ever got that far), he still believed that putting a little space between them would do the both of them some good.

xxx

Elena Gilbert let herself into Rebekah’s new mansion and let her senses lead her to the blonde Original’s bedroom where the vampire was lying on her bed flipping through magazines to find the perfect dress for the upcoming prom.

“What are you doing here?” Rebekah questioned the younger vampire, less than pleased with her presence. “And there is a common courtesy called knocking, losing your humanity isn’t an excuse for no manners.”

Elena rolled her eyes and made herself comfortable on the plush couch Rebekah had in her room. “Did you know that your brother and Bonnie’s cousin are close to getting the cure from Katherine?”

Rebekah’s blue eyes flickered up to meet Elena’s. She wasn’t aware of that. Her brothers were beginning to leave her out of the loop of everything related to the cure these days. They all wanted it for their own purposes.

“I’ll take that as a no,” Elena smirked when she noticed Rebekah’s unknowing expression. “Well, Klaus let it slip to Stefan who just couldn’t wait to run to Damon with that information and now the two of them are plotting to steal the cure when Lucy and Elijah come back to town,” she explained with an annoyed look. 

Elena was getting frustrated with the two brothers and their inability to leave her and her life to herself. She was beginning to see why Caroline and Bonnie got so annoyed with her relationship with them.

This time it was Rebekah’s turn to smirk and she turned back to her magazine and flipped through a few more pages before responding. “Those two believe they can steal the cure from a powerful witch and an Original vampire?”

“It sounds impossible but somehow those two always manage and their first stop when they get the cure will be me,” she said.

“And what do you expect me to do about it? Warn my brother that the incompetent twosome have their sights set on the cure?” Rebekah questioned, beginning to get bored of their conversation. “Why bother? Elijah will remove their hearts from their chest the moment he knows what they are up to.”

Elena’s smirk reappeared on her lips. “Help me to get the cure from Elijah and Lucy and then you can have what you’ve wanted for so long and I won’t have to worry about Damon and Stefan trying to turn me back to a human.”

That had caught Rebekah’s attention. “And how do you propose we go about this?” She questioned Elena as she pushed aside her magazine and sat up. “I’m sure they plan to use the cure against Silas so what makes you think we can get it from them?”

“From what I know, Silas’ number one target is Bonnie and Lucy won’t give that cure up for anything and she’s got my brother wrapped around her finger,” Rebekah said. “That cure won’t leave their sight for anything or anyone except Silas.”

Elena sighed and folded her arms over her chest. “Then we eliminate the target,” she replied. “Silas can’t use Bonnie if she’s dead and if Silas can no longer do what he wants, and then you can have the cure.”

Rebekah’s eyes almost widened. “Did you just imply that you want to kill your best friend on the off chance the Salvatore’s succeed in their idiotic plan to steal the cure?”

“We,” Elena corrected Rebekah. “And yes. I’m not going to allow Damon and Stefan to turn me back to a human. I was pathetic and I don’t want to be like that again and if Bonnie has to die for that to happen then so be it,” she said and a smirk began to appear on her lips. “Besides, it’s not like Bonnie’s against sacrificing herself for me.”

The Original let out a scoff. “First off, when it comes to Bonnie, it’s just you,” Rebekah told her with serious eyes. “Because if you hurt Bonnie in any way then you will have to deal with Kol and I for one do not want to be on my brother’s hit list. He’s a maniac. And Second of all, you’re an idiot, Elena.”

Elena rolled her eyes. “Do you want to be human or not?”

“Of course but my human life won’t last long if Bonnie dies in order for me to get it,” Rebekah shot back at the doppelganger with a glare. “Kol and I aren’t on the best of terms right now and if there is one person you don’t want to piss off, it’s my brother. What he will do to you would have Klaus scared.”

Rebekah knew that Elena couldn’t feel the fear that she should and that made her both incredibly dangerous and incredibly stupid.

“So I take it you’re out?” Elena asked the blonde who didn’t give her a response. “You’re loss,” she said and stood up. “I guess I can just pour the cure out into the sea or something,” she shrugged and straightened out her jacket.

“What good is killing Bonnie and stealing the cure just to destroy it when my brother already plans to use it against Silas?” Rebekah couldn’t understand Elena’s logic. “If my brother succeeds –which he probably will- the Salvatore’s won’t get to turn you back to a human. You won’t have to worry so why bother going after Bonnie?”

“Because I can?” Elena replied with an obvious look. “And because from what I hear, Silas has her brainwashed. I’ll be doing her a favour.”

Rebekah shot a disbelieving look at the doppelganger.

“If you change your mind, call me,” she threw over her shoulder to the Original before leaving the room.

Rebekah listened carefully to Elena’s movements and when she could no longer sense her and grabbed her phone from the table next to her bed.

Elena had just given her the perfect opening for her own plan to obtain the cure. Not by force like everyone else but by proving to her brother that she deserved to be human, that she could be a good person. It was a conversation they once had many, many years ago - one that she never had forgotten.

Elijah had made a promise that if he ever found the cure, he would give her a chance to prove she was worthy of taking it. She just hoped that her brother hadn’t forgotten his promise.

The blonde scrolled through her contacts until she came upon Elijah’s name and she hit the call button and held the phone to her ear, waiting for her brother to answer.

“Little sister,” Elijah greeted her when he picked up. “What can I do for you?”

“I need you to pass a message onto Kol,” she said to him. “We aren’t exactly on speaking terms right now and there is something he needs to be aware of. The both of you need to be aware of, actually.”

“Do tell,” he urged her to continue.

“The Salvatore’s plan to try and take the cure from you when you return and Elena plans to kill Bonnie and get the cure so they can’t use it against her,” she warned her brother.

“Why would Elena want to do that?” Elijah questioned his sister.

“Because Elena’s humanity has been switched off,” Rebekah reminded her brother. She thought her brother would have been aware of it. “Didn’t you know that?”

“No, I didn’t,” he muttered. He and Lucy had been so focused with taking over the hunt for the cure that he hadn’t worried himself with whatever else was happening around him. Perhaps he should have taken more notice.

“Well, now you know and now you need to contact Kol so he can do something about it,” she said to him.

“Why can’t you tell him this yourself?”

“Like I said before, we aren’t exactly on speaking terms right now. I’m sure you can imagine why,” she replied. “And be cautious when you return, the Salvatore’s have you and the cure in their sights as well. They may be idiots, but be careful with the cure when they are around.”

Elena did have a point. Somehow the Salvatore’s always got what they wanted and Rebekah wanted to make damn sure that the cure wouldn’t go to Elena.

xxx

Katherine wore her signature smirk when Elijah hung up the phone. “So innocent little Elena’s gone rogue. That’s almost worth showing my face in Mystic Falls to see.”

Lucy and Elijah had arrived in the town Hayley directed them to and Elijah had thought it to be best if he sought Katherine out on his own, fearing that putting Lucy and the vampire in close quarters would be deadly for both the supernatural women. And he thought that perhaps he would have a better chance of getting through to Katherine on his own.

It hadn’t taken Elijah long to find the doppelganger vampire in this small town she had decided to settle down in (and compel the entire town) though his sudden appearance caught her off guard the moment she heard about it, she wasn’t at all surprised. She knew it wouldn’t long until she was contacted by him or someone else from Mystic Falls.

Of course that hunter or Hayley wouldn’t keep their mouths shut.

Either way, Elijah coming to her had saved her the trouble having to make the first move and the possibility of drawing out Klaus before she was ready to.

“And planning an attack on poor Bonnie?” she faked a look of shock. “And people think I’m worse than Elena? At least I don’t hurt my friends.”

“You don’t have friends, Katerina,” Elijah deadpanned and placed his phone back in his jacket pocket.

“Probably why I’ve survived this long,” she retorted with a bored shrug. “I find that friends get in the way and really, in the end the only person you can trust is yourself.”

“That sounds like a very lonely way to live a never ending life,” Elijah replied, feeling pity for the younger vampire but also regret because it was his family that made her into that.

“It is,” she agreed with him and gradually the spiteful and cruel façade she had been wearing for so long began to fade. It was always that way when faced with Elijah. He always brought out that naïve, sweet girl she had been trying to lose for five centuries.

Katherine pushed her bubbling emotions right down, something she was so used to doing by now. “So, since you found me I take it there is something I have that you need,” she gave him a smile full of mischief. She knew exactly what he wanted but she also wanted to play a bit.

“The cure, Katerina,” he said to her. “I want it.”

“All business and no play?” she tilted her head and pouted at him. “You used to be a bit more fun, Elijah.”

“Where is the cure, Katerina?” He asked her, his growing agitation for her games clear in his tone.

“I have it but I’m not going to hand it over until I explain what I want for it in exchange,” she said to him and caught his gaze.

Katherine didn’t walk around with the cure on her but she knew the moment he and Lucy arrived in town, she had eyes everywhere so she had retrieved the cure from the safe place she had kept it since she got it.

“Then what are your terms?” he questioned, his eyes trained on hers. “The cure for your freedom?”

She shook her head at him. “I want my freedom from your brother and I feel that the only way I can truly get that is if I take the cure and force it down his throat but then I stand the risk of losing you for good and I don’t want that.” Katherine opened her purse and pulled out a small white jewellery case that she had placed the cure in and held it up for the Original to see.

“Then what is it you want?” he asked and did well to keep his composure collected in front of her.

Katherine always had an effect on him, even just that little moment when he compelled her to stay in the tomb – he had spent that entire evening playing over his memories with her.

“Just your trust,” was all she said to him. “I have lost so much, Elijah and most of it I can never gain back. I just hope that your trust is not one of those things.”

The mask that they both wore began to crack. Their true selves always began to surface when it was just the two of them.

“Trust must be earned, Katerina,” Elijah responded, his eyes leaving the beautiful vampire for a quick moment. Trust was something to be wary about when it came to her, he found out.

“Then I will earn it back somehow,” she said with conviction – a promise to him and a promise to herself. She was in a miserable place when she first met him and he brought her out of it without even trying. She’d like for him to do that again. “But for now, I’ll start with this,” she said and took a hold of his hand and placed the small box in the palm of his hand before enclosing his fingers around it but she didn’t let go of him.

Katherine was putting her heart and her emotions on her sleeve, something she hadn’t done in five hundred years.

“I know that you are here with Lucy Bennet and I know that your relationship with her is more than just friendly allies, Elijah,” she said to him before he could walk away, her hand caught his but he refused to turn around and face her.

“What is between Lucy and I is our own business, Katerina,” he said with all firmness and turned to look at her. He would not tolerate any words from her about Lucy or his relationship with her.

“I understand that and I’m not going to get involved in your relationship,” Katherine assured him. “I just want you to know if you ever decide give us a chance, I’ll be here.”

xxx

Kol felt the need to blow of some steam after his conversation with Bonnie and since it was impossible for him to kill his brother, he couldn’t think of a better punching back so he returned back to the mansion after leaving her house and just like he expected, Klaus was there but what he didn’t expect was Klaus looking like he was dying.

“What’s going on with you?” he asked his brother, his tone showing how much he really did not care.

He enjoyed seeing Klaus in pain and as far as Kol was concerned, everything his brother got he always deserved.

“Silas,” the hybrid gritted out as he tried to push himself to his feet but failed miserably. “He staked me with the White Oak stake, and then he broke it,” he panted out and held onto the back of one of the chairs to keep himself upright. “The tip is still embedded. It’s making its way to my heart.”

Kol smirked and folded his arms over his chest.  “Is this you trying to ask for my help? After what you did?”

“Brother, please,” Klaus pleaded and struggled to stay on his feet and Kol struggled not to laugh at his brother’s pathetic state. “I can’t get it out by myself.”

Kol felt no sympathy for his brother. “Why should I help you?”

“Because I’m your brother,” Klaus said and Kol let out a scoff.

“And what a wonderful brother you’ve been to me,” he sarcastically replied. “As far as I am concerned, I only have one sibling and that is Elijah.”

He didn’t miss the hurt that flashed through Klaus’ eyes, in fact, he revelled in it. He should feel hurt by that comment because unlike the rest of them, Elijah wasn’t the one running around trying to stick a dagger in his heart or trying to kill the woman he loved.

Kol had tried with all of them, tried to keep them all together during this cure debacle but they wanted nothing of it so he gave up. He kept his focus on making sure he and Bonnie came out of it alive.

“Just help me,” Klaus gritted out again. “You won’t be able to torture me as much as I know you want to if I’m dead.”

“Good point,” Kol replied with a cruel grin.

Klaus was no fun to him dead.

Kol helped his brother to his feet and took no care when he dug his fingers into Klaus’ wound on his back to get the tip of the stake out.

Klaus hissed and his fingers gripped into the arm rest of the chair. Of course Kol wouldn’t be gently removing the bit of wood. Any chance he got to cause Klaus pain he took it without question.

“Are you sure he left a bit in you?” Kol questioned his brother. He couldn’t feel anything inside the wound and if the tip of the stake was really stuck Kol would have felt it by now. “There isn’t anything there.”

“If he didn’t it would have healed by now,” Klaus grunted back.

“Not when you keep poking things in there,” Kol rolled his eyes and motioned to the pliers Klaus had been using.

“He broke the stake, Kol,” Klaus threw over his shoulder, tired of his brother’s doubts. “I felt it break.”

Kol removed his now bloody fingers from Klaus’ wound and took a step back. “Well, there’s nothing in there. With any luck it’s already reached your heart and you’re about to die any second now.”

Klaus mustered up enough energy to spin around and hit hard against Kol’s chest, sending the younger Original flying to the ground. “Is it ever possible for you to keep your mouth shut for just a few minutes?”

Kol quickly jumped back up to his feet. “I throw that question back to you, brother.”

Klaus grumbled something incoherent under his breath and picked up the pliers that had dropped to the floor. “Just get that bit of stake out of my back.”

The younger Original let out a groan. “I’m telling you there is nothing in there. I would have found it if there was.”

“Or there is and you just want me to die,” Klaus growled with an accusatory look.

Kol rolled his eyes and to prove his point, he took the pliers from Klaus and shoved them into the wound. He grinned when his brother hissed at the pain. “See? Nothing,” Kol said and moved around the pliers before removing them and tossing them onto the couch.

“That doesn’t make sense,” the hybrid groaned out. “I can feel it.”

“Did you know that Silas tricked Caroline into believing he staked her in the heart?” Kol mentioned and Klaus gave him a questioning look, telling him to get to the point. “Silas got into her head and she thought she died. Bonnie still has the White Oak stake, Nik so whatever you think Silas did, he didn’t. It’s in your head because I assure you there is nothing in there.”

Klaus shook Kol off. “No,” he gripped tighter to the chair and feel back to his knees, his strength wearing down quickly. The pain felt far too real for it to just be a trick of the mind. “If you’re not going to help then just leave,” Klaus got out and stayed on his knees on the floor.

Kol shrugged his shoulders. “Fine, I’ll help,” he said to the hybrid before taking a tight grip on his brother’s shoulders and sent his knee crashing into Klaus’ face.

Klaus fell to his hands and knees with a grunt and Kol sent a hard kick to his gut. The hybrid let out another groan when he landed on his back. His reflexes kicked in just as Kol was about to kick him in the face and he caught Kol’s boot and with a hard push he managed to send Kol to the floor.

Both Original’s rose to their feet quickly and Klaus made the first move when he smashed his body into Kol’s and watched him crash into the wall a few meters back.

Kol recovered quickly and sped towards Klaus and landed a hard punch to his gut before striking him on the side of the face, hard enough to throw him back to the ground.

“How’s the pain now, brother?” Kol spat out after he gave his brother another knee to the head.

He saw Klaus check his wound after he got back to his feet and the look that crossed Kol’s face was enough to let him know he was right. Silas had just been fucking with him.

It was a few minutes before the two Originals managed to calm down and step away from each other.

A deafening silence fell over the two of them and Klaus reached around to touch his wound but it was all healed up and the pain had vanished. He breathed a sigh of relief and his hand fell back to his side.

Kol was right; it had just been in his head. Silas hadn’t actually done anything to him, only led him to believe he did.

“I told you it was all in your head,” Kol said and brushed the dust from the wall off his jacket. He gave his brother a look a bitter glance but before he could walk away, Klaus’ hand was on his shoulder.

“I was just trying to prevent Silas from getting what he wants which if I’m not mistaken is exactly what you were trying to do not too long ago” Klaus defended himself him to Kol. “But of course, Bonnie’s gotten herself involved and if it weren’t for your feelings towards her you would have killed her as soon as you found out she was the key to all of it.”

The hybrid had a point. Had it been anyone else, Kol would have gotten rid of them. But it wasn’t anyone else, it was Bonnie. Kol wouldn’t let anything happen to her, even if it meant saving her was helping Silas.

“If you honestly expected me to just let her get murdered right in front of me, then I don’t think you know me much at all, Nik,” Kol replied to his brother.

“The old you would have,” Klaus retorted with a smirk.

“I have never stood by and watched someone I care about get hurt so don’t start giving that shit, Klaus,” Kol narrowed his eyes at his brother. “And if I remember rightly not too long ago you wanted to her be a part of this family but now you want to kill her.”

“Not too long ago she wasn’t a pain in my arse and she wasn’t the key to hell on earth,” Klaus retorted. “But you do realise there is an easy solution to all this,” he said to him, his tone dropped and a smirk played on his lips. “One that would benefit all of us in the long run, you especially.”

“And what’s that?” Kol bit.

“Turn her,” he answered with a sly grin. “Silas can’t use Bonnie if she’s no longer a witch.”

“Or we can stick to the plan and wait for Elijah to return with the cure then we use it to turn Silas human then we kill him,” Kol countered with an eye roll. He wasn’t affected by what his brother was trying to pull. It was just like him to use Bonnie’s importance to Silas against him to try and manipulate him.

“Well that would fix the Silas issue but not your Bonnie one,” Klaus retorted. “But if you turn her, you’ll get to be with her forever without any of her witchy morals getting in the way. She’ll be just like you, brother.”

Kol shook his head at his brother, sometimes he wondered why Klaus even bothered. “You know I’m impervious to your games, Klaus,” he said with a flat expression and folded his arms. He had seen Klaus do this so many times to so many different people. “I’ve been by your side for far too long to be fooled by you.”

“If all it takes is familiarity to be immune to someone’s games, then I guess it’s not that big of a surprise that Bonnie managed to fool you into loving her,” he was just trying to provoke Kol now and he knew he hit the sweet spot. “Or Amy for that matter.”

Kol let out a low, warning growl for his brother to shut his mouth but like always, he kept talking.

“Or have you forgotten about that? Forgotten how Bonnie played you, how she had every intention to let you die along with the rest of us?” He got in Kol’s face. “Bonnie was just going to stand there and let mother kill you. But what I don’t get is why you let her live after that. What she did to you was far worse than what Amy did and you destroyed that girl’s entire life.”

“I guess I didn’t like Amy as much as I thought then,” Kol shrugged his brother’s comment off.

“So let me get this right; you liked Amy, she used you for immortality, you destroyed her and her entire family line,” Klaus began. “You love Bonnie, she got close to you so she could kill all of us, and you turn into her puppy dog,” he finished and let out a mocking scoff.

“You don’t hurt the people you love, Nik,” Kol viciously replied. “But of course you wouldn’t know a thing about that, would you?”

Klaus smirked. “I guess not,” and he reached out and quickly snapped his brother’s neck much like he had done to him the previous night. When Kol’s body fell to the floor, Klaus knelt down next to him and picked up his arm. “Consider this a spot of payback, dear brother,” he said and pushed up Kol’s jacket sleeve before sinking his teeth into his brother’s arm, passing on his werewolf venom into Kol’s system. It wouldn’t start to take effect until Kol woke up and by that stage Klaus would be far enough away from his brother, so Kol would have to wait the venom out.

 It’d be a shame that Klaus couldn’t stick around to watch his brother go insane but he had business elsewhere to attend to.

xxx

Lucy Bennett was anxiously awaiting Elijah’s return back at the diner. It had been two hours since Elijah had left to go meet Katherine on his own and part of her had begun to worry that Katherine had managed to sink her claws into him again (Lucy kept trying to tell herself that she isn’t jealous and that shouldn’t be jealous but she couldn’t help it – it was Katherine and she always got what she wanted) but most of her was worried about Elijah returning with that cure.

The cure was the key to solving all their problems and she really couldn’t deal with anymore mishaps. She also just wanted to get back to Mystic Falls and to her cousin to make sure she was okay.

She looked up when she heard the diner door open and breathed a sigh of relief and sat up straighter when she saw Elijah come through the door of the small diner. He spotted her quickly and made his way over and took the seat opposite her.

“How did it go?” She asked him when he sat down.

Her eyes trailed over him when he reached into the suit jacket pocket and pulled out a small white box and placed it in the middle of the table. Her eyes flickered between the box and Elijah before she warily reached out and picked up the box and opened it.

Inside was a small glass vial that contained a dark red liquid. “Is this it?” she asked and picked the vial out of the box to inspect it further.

Elijah nodded and laced his hands together atop the table. “She gave it to me without a fight,” he said to her.

Lucy arched a brow. “Really? No bargaining? She didn’t try to gain something from this?”

The Bennett witch found that hard to believe that Katherine would do something for nothing. Katherine never did anything out of the kindness of her heart. Whenever she did something for someone else she made sure she could benefit from it to.

“She wants to regain my trust,” he said and it was the way he said it that had her worried. She could tell that he was conflicted. Part of him wanted to believe that Katherine was telling the truth but the rest of him knew that he couldn’t trust her. “She wants her freedom from Niklaus but she doesn’t want to jeopardise my trust to get it.”

“Do you believe her?” Lucy had to ask.

Katherine was a master manipulator and there seemed to be no one that she couldn’t wrap around her finger if she really tried (except maybe Klaus) and Lucy didn’t know if she could hold onto Elijah if Katherine – the woman he’s wanted for the last five hundred years – came back into the picture and starting fluttering her doe eyes and reminding him of the girl he once loved.

Anyone could see that he still had feelings for Katherine and although she hated Katherine with every fibre of her being and want nothing but pain and suffering for the vampire, she respected Elijah and if it was Katherine that he truly wanted then she’d just have to suck it up and deal with it.

Lucy wasn’t in love with Elijah, that much she was certain of and she knew she never would be (she would never be able to get what he was out of her head and she sure as hell would never become one) but she liked what they had and she didn’t want to lose it just yet. But in the end, Elijah was never hers to lose.

“I don’t know,” he answered Lucy with honesty.

He would like to believe that she was being truthful with him but he could never be sure. Five hundred years of running and looking out for only herself had changed her dramatically but part of him would like to believe that his Katerina was still in there somewhere. Hidden deep down beneath the lies she lived by to keep herself safe.

“You hope she is though,” she said knowingly. “You want her to be telling the truth.”

He didn’t answer her but she knew she was right. It wasn’t that hard to pick up on.

She managed a small but understanding smile and reached over to cover his hands with hers. “I get it, Elijah,” she said to him. “You can talk to me about it.”

“I have been on this earth for twenty lifetimes and no doubt I’ll be here for twenty more,” he started, looking up at her with a shadow of a smile playing at his lips and his fingers laced with hers. “This lifetime I would like to spend with you.”

For once he wanted to put himself before other and to Lucy Bennett, that was far better than any kind of declaration of love.


	32. Bitten and Smitten

The entire downstairs level of the Mikaelson mansion was in ruins within minutes of Kol awakening and discovering the little bite his brother had left behind. Furious didn’t even begin to cover the rage the Original felt bubbling inside of him and Kol was never one to contain his rage.

Niklaus was going to pay when he showed his face again and when would Kol get his hands on him. This was the last time his brother would pull a stunt like this. They were family for crying out loud.

 _No wonder the miserable bastard has no one_ , Kol thought bitterly to himself when he examined the wound closer. _Look at how he treats his own family._

After destroying whatever he could get his hands on (making sure every item he wrecked belonged to his brother and not him or Elijah) and downing a bottle of whiskey he went to his room and took another few full bottle of whiskey with him (the best stuff his brother owned, of course) along with a handful of blood bags – it was going to be a long night.

He mistakenly thought he’d be able to sleep it off. He’d done it before – the venom of the bite wouldn’t kill him like it did the average vampire but there was clearly something different about Niklaus’ venom that made the effects of the bite stronger.

Perhaps a side effect of Niklaus being both vampire and werewolf.

Strange and vivid dreams haunted him while he slept, he was covered in a light sheen of sweat and his hair matted to his forehead. He would try to open his eyes but it was like they had been sewn shut. He felt completely drained – so much so it was too much of a task to reach out and grab one of the blood bags that rested on the table beside his bed to try and gain back some of his strength.

It had to have something to do with the bite being from Klaus. He’d been bitten before (a number of times, actually – no matter how many times Elijah warned him, he never stopped provoking the wolves) and none of them felt like this. None of them made him feel like he was burning alive from the inside.

There was part of him that was tempted to contact Bonnie, perhaps there was a spell that could weaken the effect of the bite but he would not risk her safety. The safest place for her is as far away from him as possible. The bite causes delusions; it’s known that faces become mixed. When looking at a love one, your worst enemy’s face could appear before you.

Kol flinched when he felt a soft, warm hand push back his sweat soaked hair from his forehead and he sighed at the sweet touch he’d come to love so much filled his ears.

“What are you doing here?” he managed to get out with his voice hoarse and no louder than a whisper. “You shouldn’t be here,” his attempt to push her away was weak but if he were honest, he was glad she was here.

She could always manage to calm him down when no one else could. Just a glimpse into those beautiful green eyes or watching her face light up with a smile made his insides warm and filled him with a happiness that he sometimes felt he didn’t deserve.

“You weren’t answering any of my calls or texts,” she replied softly. “I got worried.” Her hand rested on his cheek and her thumb stroked his cheekbone with a feather light touch. “What happened?”

“Klaus,” was all he grunted out along with a scoff.

Oh yeah, his brother was going to pay for this big time. Reducing him to a pathetically weak mess….if he had the strength, he’d probably be cringing.

Kol managed to raise a hand to curl around Bonnie’s wrist, his head turning slightly to press his lips to the soft skin. “You shouldn’t be here,” he told her and finally succeeded in opening his eyes to look up at her. “It’s too dangerous for you to be around me while I’m like this.”

It really was. It wouldn’t take much in his current state for him to unintentionally harm her.

“I’m not leaving you alone while you’re like this,” she responded with a tiny smile tugging at her lips. “I want to make sure you’re okay.”

Kol cracked the smallest of smiles and once again pressed his lips to the inside of her wrist. “I’ll be fine,” he assured her. “It’s only temporary.”

“I don’t care, I’m staying,” she stubbornly replied while she ran her fingers soothingly through his hair. “You need me.”

She leant down and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips before laid down next to him, her head on his shoulder. He closed his eyes while enjoying the feel of her soft body curled up against him and even with the fever he was running, the warmth her body radiated was welcomed.

His head turned he had every intention of kissing her gently on the forehead but he was met with nothing. She was gone.

A hallucination.

Of fucking course it was.

Kol gave an annoyed grunt and reached for another blood bag to tear into, followed by a swig of whiskey.

The damn hallucination only made him want her by him more and he hated it. He’s always had a sibling around to watch out for him every other time he’s experienced the bite but this time he was alone and he hated to admit it, but it kind of sucked, especially when he just drank through his last blood bag and couldn’t be bothered to go back downstairs for more.

He grabbed his phone from the table and winced when the too bright light of the screen nearly blinded him but he saw all the messages and calls from Bonnie.

Kol knew he’d probably give in some point of the night and call her so to save her from the potential danger (because he knew she’d come right away), he mustered as much strength as he could and threw the slim phone directly at the wall, not watching the delicate pieces shatter at the collision. He closed his eyes and attempted to sleep off the venom.

xxx

“Space?” Caroline questioned with a dumbfound expression on her face when Bonnie explained to her what had happened between her and Kol. “He said you both needed space?”

Bonnie gave a nod, leaned back against the headboard of her bed and hugged a pillow close to her chest. The young witch had called Caroline over that night, after Kol had left and even though it wasn’t exactly a break up (they weren’t even together for crying out loud) she needed her best friend.

Caroline gave an odd look from her sprawled out position at the end of Bonnie’s bed. “But didn’t you say the exact same thing to him yesterday night?” she recalled Bonnie mentioning something like that. Bonnie nodded again and Caroline raised and eye brow. “So you’re upset at him for being on the same wave length as you?”

This time the witched shrugged. “I don’t know,” she sighed and banged her head back against the headboard in frustration. “Things just seem to get more confusing between us every day.”

“That’s what you get when you try to kiss him not twenty four hours after you tell him you’re not ready to be together again,” the blonde said and Bonnie gave her a glare even though the witch knew her friend was right.

But when it came to Kol, sometimes (or most times) Bonnie couldn’t help herself around him. Nearly every time she looked at him she wanted to kiss him. She wanted to let herself be with him but she couldn’t. There was something holding her back and she didn’t know what it was or how to get over it.

“Oh, don’t you glare at me,” Caroline chided and propped herself up on her elbow. “I’m only repeating what you told me. What made you want to kiss him anyway?”

Bonnie pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on the pillow. “He was telling me some more about his past,” she answered her friend. “And whenever Kol opens up about stuff like that he gets this really cute look on his face,” a light smile tugged at her lips when she thought back to their little talk. Kol doesn’t let himself be vulnerable around anyone and it made her feel special whenever he opened up to her about things he didn’t like to talk about. “And I kept thinking back to when he kissed me last night and it was a really nice kiss,” she finished with a girlish giggle, one that Caroline returned.

“I suppose in the way of looks he is kind of cute,” Caroline replied and Bonnie let out another laugh. Bonnie heard Caroline let out a sigh before she spoke up. “To be honest, I don’t even know why you’re putting yourself through this, Bon,” she sat and sat up to look at her friend. “You love him and want him in your life. You shouldn’t feel bad about wanting that but you should stop trying to over complicate it.”

“That’s easier said than done,” Bonnie replied and picked at the fraying threads on the pillow she was holding.

“No, it’s as easy as it sounds,” Caroline retorted. “But of course you’d think of it that way. You like to make everything harder than it really is.”

Bonnie rolled her eyes. “That’s not true. All I want right now is easy. I’m at my wits end when it comes to complicated and being with Kol might complicate things further.”

“Well, I don’t see how that could be possible. Things are already pretty messed up,” Caroline muttered and pushed some of her blonde hair behind her ear. “I don’t think it’ll make things worse, hell, it might make it better. At least the freaking sexual tension between you two will disappear…”

Again, the witch rolled her eyes at her friend. “Okay, I’ll give him a call tonight,” she said.

“Or you could go over there but calling him is fine too,” she shrugged then sat up. “But first, let’s get some dinner. I’m starved.”

xxx

After every one of her text messages and phone calls were ignored all night, Bonnie walked into the Mikaelson mansion the next day to see Kol and once she was inside her mouth dropped when she saw the state the usually pristine mansion was in. There were a number of items broken and smashed scattered over the marble floor as well as cracks in the floors and wall.

“Kol?” she called out, immediately worrying.  She checked around the downstairs area but found nothing.

“Kol!” she called out louder and headed up the stairs, going straight to his room. She pushed the door open and walked in. The state of it wasn’t as bad as the downstairs, but the sheets were dishevelled and there were blood bags on the tables beside his bed while empty bags scattered the floor. “Kol,” she said his name again as she looked around his room. She saw his phone –at least what was left of it- in a broken heap on the floor.

Explains why he never got back to her.

The door to the bathroom opened and Bonnie snapped around to look. She let out a relieved sigh when she saw Kol walk out, nothing but jeans on while he towel dried his hair.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, either unaware of the mess downstairs or trying to play it off.

“What the hell happened down there?” she questioned him right away. “It looks like a hurricane went through the place.”

Kol gave a simple shrug and folded his arms across his chest and made sure the towel covered the bite mark on his arm. It still hadn’t healed and Kol wasn’t exactly sure why. Although the effects weren’t as bad as last night, he could still feel the venom in his system. “Nothing to worry about, just Nik and I having a bit of a disagreement.”

Bonnie nearly scoffed and she copied his stance by folding her arms. “A bit of a disagreement includes destroying the entire lower level of this place?”

“No our disagreement included a few bits and pieces of broken furniture, it was the aftermath that destroyed the place,” he explained and a hint of a smirk tugged at his lips as he thought of Niklaus returning to see the place in ruins. “A bit of a surprise for when my dear brother returns.”

“What we you guys arguing about?” she asked him, full well knowing there could be any number of reasons why the two of them had a vampire smack down.

“Take your pick,” he answered and Bonnie’s eyes widened when he dropped his arms down to his sides.

“What the hell is that?” she questioned and quickly made her way over to him. “Is that….did Klaus bite you?” she tried to take a hold of his arm to get a better look but he moved away from her before she could.

“It’s nothing to worry about,” he tried to assure her but the glare he received told him to shut the hell up unless he was going to tell her the truth. He sighed, the worst of it was over now so why not… “Yeah, he did, hence the destruction downstairs. He snapped my neck then bit me while I was out.”

“Where is he? Can’t his blood heal werewolf bites?” she asked and managed to take his arm in her hands so she could look at the wound more closely.

“He was long gone by the time I came to,” he said to her and watched her finger gently trace around the bite. “It’s not killing me, so don’t worry.”

“I know it’s not going to kill you but won’t it still…mess you up? And aren’t they usually healed by now?”

“I guess Klaus’ venom is different,” he said and removed her hand from his arm. “But I’m alright,” he smiled down at her. “Last night was pretty bad but it is healing.”

“You could have called me if it was that bad,” but then she remembered the shattered cell phone lying on the ground not a few feet away from her.

“The venom of a werewolf can drive a vampire to the point of insanity, Bonnie, so trust me, it was better for me to be alone. Even now I’m not exactly sure you being here is safe.”

“Well, I’m not leaving,” she gave him a stubborn look. “And if you do freak out, I can protect myself. Full access to Expression, remember.”

Kol chuckled, the time she used just a bit of her Expression magic on him when he returned to town was still crystal clear in his memory and as sick as it sounds, he loved it when she used her magic on him. He loved his powerful little witch.

“Can I get you anything?” she asked him, her fierce and stubborn demeanour was replaced with a more gentle and nurturing side. “Blood, alcohol….” She trailed off his favourite things then she looked down to his still there bite. “Bandage?”

“It’ll heal completely when the venom fades,” he told her and looked down at the nasty wound that made him want to drive multiple stakes through his brother’s heart then perhaps burn him at a slightly larger stake. “Can you get me some blood from the kitchen?” he asked her and sat down on his dishevelled bed.

“Sure,” Bonnie nodded; ignoring how strange that request should sound to her, but considering her life it’s one of the least strange. “Do you like…have it heated up or something?” she asked awkwardly and rubbed the back of her neck. Okay…now it was getting strange.

Kol laughed and ran a hand through his wet hair before he answered her. She was adorable.

Bonnie was tempted to lean in and kiss him (damn his smile!) but given their last conversation, it was probably better that she didn’t do anything. At least not until they had talked some more about what the hell is going on between them (and maybe when he completely recovered from the wolf bite). Instead, she opted for giving his hand a gentle squeeze and headed out of his room and made her way to the kitchen where Kol told her he kept the blood bags.

She pulled one of the bags out of the fridge and nearly shuddered when she poured it into a glass she pulled out of the cupboard.

“This is by far the weirdest thing I’ve done,” Bonnie muttered to herself as she put the glass of blood in the microwave for the time Kol specified. Apparently nothing beats warm blood…

Bonnie leant against the counter as she watched the timer count down and when she took out the warm glass she heard the front door open and shut.

“What the hell happened in here?” she heard Lucy’s voice exclaim, obviously referring to the Hurricane Mikaelson that ran through the place last night.

Bonnie left the kitchen and made her way to the foyer where she found Lucy and Elijah looking around the still ruined mansion.

Lucy’s gaze fell on her then to the cup in her hand and she arched a brow at her younger cousin. “New diet?”

“For Kol. Klaus bit him last night,” she told them, her annoyance clear when she spat out Klaus’ name. “He’s okay now, still a little weak though.”

Bonnie heard Elijah let out a heavy sigh followed by a disappoint shake of the head as took the cup from her hand and gave her a small smile before making his way up the stairs to see his brother and muttering about having to call someone to come clean up the mess. Clearly he’d had enough of his brother’s wrecking stuff and each other.

“You weren’t here last night, were you?” Lucy gave her a concerned look and Bonnie shook her head.

“I got here about an hour ago. As shocked as you were when I walked in.”

“Klaus is such a dick,” Lucy grunted and took off her jacket to hang it up next to the door.

“How’d everything go with Katherine?” Bonnie asked carefully. She knew of Lucy’s touchy history with Katherine and she had been worried how Lucy would be.

“Thankfully, Elijah handled everything bitch related,” she said and motioned for Bonnie to follow her as she began to walk into the other room.

Bonnie snickered and sat down across from Lucy.

“But,” the older witch continued. “It all went to plan. We have the cure and now we just have to wait for the right moment to use it.”

 _If there ever will be a right moment_ , Bonnie thought to herself. So far it seemed impossible to even get the slightest bit ahead of Silas. He could get into their heads and make them see whatever the hell he wanted them to. He put Klaus to shame in the villain department.

“Is the cure safe?” Bonnie asked her. That was the most important thing right now. No one can get their hands on it. It was their only weapon against Silas, the only thing that could end all this.

Lucy nodded. “As safe as it can be. Elijah’s taken charge with that.”

Bonnie wasn’t sure if that was the best idea. Even though she respected Elijah, she knew he could be a bit of a push over when it came to his younger siblings, especially Rebekah. All she had to do was bat her eyes at him. She would have mentioned something about it to Lucy but decided against it what with Elijah in the house and all.

Soon enough, Elijah returned back downstairs with Kol following close behind. The younger Original gave Bonnie a small smile and sat down next to her.

“Feeling better?” she asked him with a concerned tone. He nodded and gave her knee a gentle squeeze before dropping his hand back in his lap.

“Enough cure talk right now, we need to talk about what happened while Elijah and I were gone.”

And this is exactly the moment Bonnie had been dreading…

xxx

The four of them were seated in the study – three pairs of eyes on her while she focused on her lap. She couldn’t even bring herself to look up at her cousin. Bonnie didn’t remember much, but she was told that she asked Lucy to organise the witches, witches that Bonnie apparently wanted to kill.

She could tell that Lucy wanted to shoot a whole bunch of questions at her but the older witch also knew that with her current memory loss, Bonnie wouldn’t be able to answer them.

Bonnie felt Kol grab her hand and hold it in his in a gesture of comfort. “None of this was your fault,” he told her with eyes full of sincerity. “It was Silas controlling you, manipulating you.”

She had a feeling he was saying this more for Lucy’s benefit than for her own. Not that she minded - she couldn’t even look her cousin in the eye let alone try to explain something she didn’t even remember.

Bonnie gripped Kol’s hand tighter.

“I’m not angry at you, Bonnie,” Lucy stated and Bonnie’s eyes flickered up to meet hers. “I just don’t get it.”

Bonnie couldn’t help but let out a scoff and shrugged her shoulders. “That makes two of us,” she responded and her eyes moved away from her cousin.

“Kol said the last thing you remembered was being in Silas’ tomb with Jeremy and then waking up with Caroline beside you,” Lucy clarified and Bonnie gave a nod. “Well, Elijah and I have been talking and it’s entirely possible that you losing your memory was part of Silas’ plan.”

Bonnie gave her cousin a curious look at her theory. “I don’t really see how me not remembering would help him at all.”

She noticed Lucy shooting a hesitant look to Elijah before continuing. “That’s why I’d like to try and get inside your head and see if we can piece together what happened the last few days.”

Elijah spoke up next. “I believe you yourself are familiar with the spell we are talking about,” he said with a hint of a smile playing at his lips. “You performed it on Luka Martin.”

“You knew about that?”

Elijah nodded. “Of course I did, Jonas informed me of what happened immediately. I couldn’t fault Luka for the actions of a stubborn young witch determined to help her friend.”

“Just because you don’t remember what happened doesn’t mean the memories aren’t there,” Lucy said to her. “If you let me, I can access them then we can see what happened.”

“Of course I’ll let you,” Bonnie said. “I want to know as much as they rest of you do.”

The feeling of knowing she did something but not remembering it was horrible; it was like someone had wiped away the last few days of her life. It was an awful feeling.

“So when did you want to do this?” Bonnie asked her and rubbed her palms nervously up and down her thighs.

Lucy answered, “Sooner rather than later would be best.”

xxx

It was only an hour later that Bonnie sat still on the couch while Lucy stood behind her, her hands on either side of Bonnie’s head. They had both closed their eyes and Lucy began to quietly chant the spell and the candles that had been placed around the room began to flicker with the presence of magic.

Elijah and Kol stood off to the side

Neither Elijah nor Kol noticed Klaus casually walk into the room, nearly laughing at the scene before him. There was Elijah hunched over Lucy while Kol tried to break Bonnie out from whatever trance she was in and failing miserably at it.

“Your love for the witch clearly clouds your judgement, little brother,” Klaus smirked and appeared on the other side of Bonnie. His hand closed around her wrist and with a sharp twist the bone broke in his hand. Whatever spell Bonnie was using on her cousin immediately broke and she gave a howl of pain. “Everyone knows that the best way to break a witch from a trance is to break something of hers.”

Kol growled and glared at his brother

“Oh God…” Bonnie whimpered as she shot up from the couch cradled her wrist to her chest and watched Elijah help Lucy sit up right. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t…I don’t…” her eyes began to water and she wasn’t sure if it was from the pain throbbing in her wrist or the look in her cousin’s eyes.  The young witch darted out of the room and headed straight up the stairs.

“Don’t leave her alone,” Lucy’s hoarse voice said to Kol who was busy envisioning sticking daggers into his brother’s eyes.

“Kol!” Elijah got his attention. “Go after her,” he told his brother and held on tighter to Lucy.

Kol followed the sound of Bonnie’s sobs all the way to his room and found her sitting on the chair in the corner of the room, knees pulled up to her chest and securely holding her wrist. The Original moved the matching foot rest of the chair closer and sat down on it in front of her.

“Is she okay?” Bonnie asked him and wiped her eyes on the back of her good hand and put her feet down on the floor.

“She’ll be fine, Elijah is with her,” he answered and took a hold of the same she used to wipe away her tears. “Can I ask what that was down there?”

She closed her eyes and shook her head a few times. “I don’t know what happened,” she said, her voice slightly nasally. “It’s like I blacked out.”

“Expression protects your mind,” both their heads whipped around when they heard Klaus speak up. “It prevents unwanted guests from poking around.”

“And you know that how?” Kol snapped at his brother.

“I’ve known a few witches in my time who have dealt with Expression,” Klaus said and pushed himself off the door frame and walked further into the room but one glare from Kol paired with a low growl was enough to halt his movements. “Although, they had a better handle on it than you,” he smirked towards Bonnie. “Sorry about the wrist, love,” he added not too apologetically.

Kol stood up and moved himself so he shielded Bonnie from Klaus’ view. “If you have nothing else of use to add, then leave.”

“When Lucy performed the spell, it clearly triggered the defence mechanism Expression had put in Bonnie’s mind,” he told them. “The defence mechanism is –as you can probably gather- is of the offensive nature,” he placed his arms behind his back. “I’ve seen the same thing once before, in fact, and it did not end well for the other party. And If I had not come in when I did and put an end to it, your dear cousin would be dead.”

“If it’s gratitude you’re expecting go find it somewhere else.”

Klaus scoffed. “Gratitude, from you, brother? Please, I’d have better chance of getting blood from a stone.”

“Because I have so much to be thankful to you for, don’t I?” Kol snapped and began to stalk towards him with every word. “The total of one hundred and fifty years you kept me locked in a coffin, the werewolf bite you gave me, killing our mother and turning her against us, shall I go on?”

“Speaking of, how is the bite, brother?” Klaus asked with a provoking smirk playing on his lips. “All healed up?”

Before Kol could even respond, Klaus’ head snapped to the side with a _crack_ that was music to his ears and the hybrid fell to the ground in a heap. The Original turned to Bonnie with an arched brow but she wasn’t even looking at him.

“I’m sorry,” she apologised quietly. “But I can’t deal with him and his crap right now.”

A grin broke out on Kol’s face and he moved back to sit in front of her. “Don’t be sorry, that was beautiful. You’re really getting the hang of that.” He gave her knee a squeeze. “I’ll get rid of him then I’ll be back up, okay?”

She nodded and watched him pick up one of Klaus’ limp arms and drag him out of the room. If it weren’t for the throbbing pain pulsating through her arm, she probably would have laughed at the sight.

“So is vampire blood good for fixing broken bones because Caroline will kill me if I pair my dress with a cast,” she said when he came back into the room and instead of sitting in front of her, he sat on the arm of the chair next to her.

Kol stood back up and fetched a glass off the table next to his bed. There was still an amber liquid in the glass but he quickly downed.

“Blood and bourbon,” Bonnie commented with a hint of distaste as he bit into his wrist then held it over the glass to let the crimson liquid pour in. “Lovely.”

“Extra flavour,” he grinned at her.

He filled the glass just over half way before he made his way back over to her and sat on the arm once again. He held out the glass for her to take which she tentatively wrapped her fingers around the circular body. She still wasn’t the biggest fan of drinking blood.

“Do I have to drink it all?” she asked and inspected the dark crimson blood in the glass.

“Just drink until the pain is gone,” he answered and his hand appeared under the glass and pushed it up to her face. He chuckled when he saw her hesitation. “You’ve had my blood before, Bonnie and if I recall correctly, you quite enjoyed it.”

She gave him a pointed look before raising the glass to her lips and taking a sip. She immediately began to feel the effects as Kol’s blood began to course through her body and start to mend the broken bone.

She tried to ignore Kol’s gaze as she continued to drink his blood, almost all of it was gone when she took the glass away from her lips and held it out for Kol.

“Are you feeling better?” he asked her and took the glass and set it on the dresser next to him.

Bonnie nodded and began to move her wrist around, there was still a dull ache but overall it was okay. It should stop hurting completely by night. “Thanks,” she gave him a small but grateful smile.

She felt his hand on her shoulder when she looked back down at the floor. “You don’t have to feel bad about what happened down there,” he said. “None of us blame you. Expression is tricky, your cousin knows that.”

“Yeah but I don’t think she was expecting me to randomly attack her,” she replied back bitterly.

Kol shrugged his shoulders. “You can’t control everything. And from what I hear she’s fine, Elijah’s taking care of her. You don’t need to worry. It was an accident.”

“And how many more accidents have to happen before I seriously hurt someone?”

xxx

It was later that night when Bonnie finally built up the courage to seek out Lucy. Kol had told her that she had nothing to feel guilty over, that Lucy didn’t blame her for what happened but the younger witch still couldn’t shake off the guilt. Everything seemed to go to hell since she got Expression magic. She was messing everything up.

She tapped three times on Elijah’s partially opened door and poked her head in to see Lucy messing around on her laptop. She gave Bonnie a bright smile and motioned her to come in by patting on the bed.

“Don’t even think about apologising,” Lucy said as soon as Bonnie sat on the bed. “That was Expression, not you.”

“Isn’t that kind of the same thing since Expression is based on my will?” Bonnie recalled what Shane told her about Expression, that it was neither light nor dark.

“Either way, don’t blame yourself,” she said and put her hand on Bonnie’s shoulder. “You were in a magically induced trance, you didn’t know what you were doing and honestly neither do I so let’s blame it on Expression and put it behind us?”

“Why are you always so quick to forgive me when I screw up?” her voice was timid and filled with guilt.

Lucy’s hand covered hers and gave it a squeeze. “That’s what family does. And I’m not going to hold something you can’t control over you, that wouldn’t be fair.”

“I should be able to control it. What’s the point of having it if I can’t?”

“You’re still new to it and the one who taught you it didn’t exactly have your best intentions at heart. You’ll get a hang of it soon,” the older witch gave Bonnie an encouraging smile. “I’ll help you as much as I can.”

“I don’t even know if anyone can help me,” Bonnie sighed.

Shane was the only one who had extensive knowledge of Expression magic but of course he never had her best interests at heart, only his own. She had just been yet another pawn in someone else’s plan.

Even though she felt more in control of Expression than she had before the triangle had been complete, what happened earlier today proved that she was not in complete control of it.

“You’re not going to get the hang of it so quickly,” Lucy said. “Like anything, it takes time to get used to, takes time to learn to control.”

“Given what’s happening, it’d be best for everyone if I got control of it now.”

“Screw what’s best for everyone, Bon, I only care about what’s best for you,” Lucy responded with a fierce voice. “You are the only one here that I will fight to protect.”

Bonnie looked up at her cousin with a small smile. She was so thankful that she had met Lucy and even more thankful that she had agreed to come to Mystic Falls to help her. Lucy was her family and Bonnie had come to love her dearly. She couldn’t even imagine her life without the older witch now.

** XXX **

A slow week had passed and Prom night had finally arrived but unfortunately, no one was feeling it, not even Caroline which had surprised all of them. They had an immortal mad man who could appear as anyone he wanted to running around town, their best friend had been turned into an emotionless bitch who just wanted to terrorise everyone, Tyler was all the way across the world and Jeremy was dead. Prom really didn’t seem all that important to the right now, but they had decided to make the best out of a horrendous situation and try to put everything behind them for just a few hours.

Not to mention, Kol had been stayed true to his word and kept his distance from her and unless she sought out him, she wouldn’t see or hear from him. Bonnie let out a sigh as she put the last clip in her hair and she stepped back to look at herself in the full length mirror that was in Caroline’s room.

This was supposed to be an exciting night, one she had been waiting for and dreaming about but right now, with Silas on the loose, Jeremy dead and Elena turning off her humanity, Prom was the last place Bonnie wanted to be.

“You should have asked him,” Caroline said as she walked into her room and headed straight to her closet once again for another look. It was her third time since she found out that Elena had stolen her dress. “If it would take that frown off your face.”

“It’s not that,” Bonnie said and sat down on Caroline’s bed. “None of this is turning out how I imagined is all.”

Caroline gave a scoff. “You and me both, Bon,” she agreed and sat down next to Bonnie. “Elena wasn’t supposed to be a raging, emotionless, dress stealing bitch, Tyler was supposed to be here and remind me again why Damon is going to be there?”

“Probably another grand scheme of theirs to get Elena to turn her emotions back on,” Bonnie shrugged.

“Yeah, ‘cause they always turn out so well,” Caroline let out a heavy sigh and put her head in her hands.

“What are you going to do about a dress?” Bonnie asked her blonde friend.

“Well….as much as I hate to do this, I think I know where I can get a pretty decent dress,” Caroline answered and lifted her head back up and Bonnie arched a brow at her friend, wondering who she was talking about. “But one thing is for certain, I am not going to let Elena ruin this night for me. But you don’t worry about that, Matt will be here any second so you two head on out and I’ll catch up with you there.”

“Are you sure? I thought the whole point of us three going together was going together. I don’t want to go without you.”

Caroline stood up and pulled Bonnie with her. “While I am currently dress-less, you look amazing,” she smiled and looked down at the emerald green dress that she and Bonnie had picked out months ago. “And I’m not going to let you waste that dress waiting for me. So you and Matt are going to head on out and have fun and I’ll meet up with you when I sort all this out and outshine Elena.”

The two girls shared a quick hug (careful not to mess Bonnie’s hair, make up or dress up) and Caroline grabbed her keys from her desk. “Matt should be here any minute,” she called out before she left her room. “Have fun, I‘ll get there as soon as I can!”

“O…kay,” Bonnie watched with confusion as Caroline raced out of the house. The door slammed shut behind Caroline and then the house was overtaken by silence.

Bonnie finished off putting the rest of her accessories on and the doorbell rang just as she did the clasps on her necklace and let the cool silver drop against her chest.

She opened the door and greeted Matt with a warm smile and let her eyes soak in his appearance. “I’ve never seen someone look as good in a suit as you,” she said to him and accepted his hug.

Any night she got to see Matt in a suit was a good night.

Matt scoffed. “Not even Kol?” he questioned and followed Bonnie into the house.

“He’s second,” she looked back at him and shot him a wink

“Where’s Caroline?” Matt asked as he looked around the Forbes house.

“I have no idea,” Bonnie answered and grabbed her coat. “Elena stole her dress so she’s gone to get another one. Where, I don’t know.”

“Why am I expected a headline tomorrow saying ‘Local Dress Shop Robbed’?” Matt chuckled as he took the coat from Bonnie’s hand and helped her into it.

Bonnie gave a laugh and pulled her hair out from under the coat. “I would not be surprised. Either that or she’ll rip her dress off of Elena.”

“Oh! I’d like the see that,” Matt wiggled his eyebrows and Bonnie gave him a smack on the arm.

“You ready to go?” she asked him and he nodded.

“After you, my gorgeous date,” he said and opened the front door for her then held out his arm for her to take.

xxx

Bonnie’s arms were folded tightly as she held back tears of anger and frustration.

After the complete disaster that was her senior Prom, Bonnie didn’t want to go home; she wanted to go to the Mikaelson mansion. As much of a letdown the evening had been for the witch, it had done one thing for her. It put things in perspective. It helped her to see what she really wanted.

And right now there were only two things on her mind. One was destroying Silas and the other was Kol.

When the evening just kept getting worse and worse, the person she found herself wishing to be there was Kol. And after she found out that Silas took the form of Jeremy in attempts to manipulate her into doing what he wanted, she felt like she needed him more than ever.

“Are you okay?” Bonnie spun around when she heard Rebekah approaching. “I heard what happened with Elena,” she said and stood in front of the witch. “Are you all right?”

Bonnie let out a short, dry laugh. “I don’t even know.” How does one even process the fact that their best friend had every intention of killing them? Twice. “Did Damon and Stefan tell you?”

Rebekah shook her head. “No, they are long gone with Elena while she’s out. She told me what she was going to do, I told Matt to warn you. I should have come to you myself,” she said with a slight frown.

“It’s okay,” Bonnie responded softly and looked down at the ground. “I probably wouldn’t have believed you.”

Even after what Elena had said to her, Bonnie didn’t believe she would actually go so far as to kill her.

“You don’t look hurt,” Bonnie arched a brow at the blonde. “Physically I mean, from the blood it looked like she took a chunk out of you.”

“She did but I healed myself,” Bonnie answered. That was something she’d never done before so she assumed it was a perk of having full access to Expression magic.

“Handy. I know you came here with Matt and you look like you’d rather be anywhere else right now,” Rebekah said with a small smile. “Would you like me to give you a ride?”

“Didn’t you come here with Elena?”

“No, she made her usual dramatic entrance with a Salvatore on either arm, I brought myself,” she said with a slight roll of her eyes. “The perks of being dateless.”

“I suppose the night didn’t really work out for either of us, then,”

“You took my date and my crown,” she nudged Bonnie’s side as the two of them made their way to the blonde’s car. “But I suppose who you really wanted to come with couldn’t make it. The thing is, I’m not too sure who that is, exactly.”

Bonnie frowned. “You heard what happened with Silas?”

“You mean with him taking on Jeremy’s appearance in attempts to manipulate you? Yup. You wanted Jeremy here so badly that Silas took advantage of that but it makes you wonder why he took the form of Jeremy instead of Kol considering you’re supposed to be in love with him not Jeremy,” Rebekah said.

“What are you implying,” Bonnie stopped walking.

“I’m saying that Silas takes form of those you love to manipulate you, and he chose Jeremy to get to you instead of Kol,” the vampire explained.

“I’ve known Jeremy since I was a kid, Rebekah, and I dated him. Of course I love him, not in the way I used to when we were together but I still love him and care about him.”

“And how do you feel about Kol?”

“Do you even have to ask?”

Rebekah shrugged. “Do I?”

“Why do you even care anyway? You two have been at each other’s throats for the last month and you put a dagger in his chest.”

“He’s my brother, of course I care and I don’t want him to get hurt again,” she said. “”And you let me put that dagger in his chest so don’t get stroppy with me.”

“I don’t know why Silas is appearing to me as Jeremy instead of Kol, but don’t doubt how much I love your brother,” the witch eyed the vampire. “He’s the reason I haven’t completely fallen apart.”

Bonnie couldn’t help but feel at peace whenever Kol was around, she felt safe and loved. A comfort she found hard to come by these days. Very few people provided her with it.

“So where am I taking you?” Rebekah asked when they got into her car. “Home or Kol? Or I can take you to my place.”

“Kol,” was all Bonnie replied with as Rebekah started her car.

The two of them spent most of the drive in silent but a few minutes out from their destination, Rebekah spoke up.

“I suppose Silas is probably using Jeremy’s face because of the guilt you feel towards his death,” she said. “He’s too smart to use Kol because you know he is completely against Silas and what he wants. You’d figure it out before he could get inside your head.”

“I just wish I had nothing to do with this,” Bonnie sighed and leant back in the seat. “I hate being in the middle of it all.”

“What do you want to do, then?” Rebekah questioned. “You don’t have to be in the middle, Bonnie. You shouldn’t have to do anything you don’t want to.”

“If I do what I want then people are going to get hurt,” she answered.

“And if you stay, you’re going to get hurt,” Rebekah added for her. “You are what Silas needs the most; he’s going to do anything he can to get to you.”

“So it doesn’t really matter what I do, someone is going to get hurt either way. I leave, he’s going to threaten everyone he can until I come back, I stay and do what he wants or try to fight him, I’ll wind up dead.”

“Don’t forget that you aren’t alone,” Rebekah said. “You do have people looking out for you. You have your cousin; you have Elijah, Kol and me. We’ll all look out for you,” the blonde paused for a moment. “I know we haven’t exactly been on the best of terms for the last few months, but I’m still your friend and you can still come to me.”

“Thanks, Bekah,” Bonnie gave her a gentle smile before turning back to look out the window, the two of them driving the rest of the way in silence.

When they got to the mansion, Bonnie thanked Rebekah for the ride and let herself into the mansion and saw Lucy putting on her coat in the foyer and Elijah walking down the stairs.

“You two going out?” she asked them.

“Yeah, we were going to go grab something to eat,” Lucy answered her. “I thought you’d be staying over with Matt and Caroline afterwards?”

“Change of plans,” she replied. “Wasn’t in much of a partying mood tonight.”

“Are you okay?” her cousin asked with concern.

Bonnie nodded. “I will be. You two go out. We’ll talk tomorrow,” she said to Lucy.

“You sure?” the younger Bennett nodded again. “Okay, I’ll see you in the morning then,” she said and gave her cousin a tight hug. “You should get some rest,” she added when they pulled apart.

“Kol’s in his room,” Elijah told her and placed a hand on her shoulder as he passed her to follow Lucy out the door.

Kol was right where Elijah said he’d be and a smile found its way to her lips when she found him sprawled out on his bed and a game controller in his hand, eyes fixated on the large TV screen on the other side of the room.

She let out a short laugh when she looked to the screen and saw him playing what looked to be one of the zombie games she’d watch Matt and Tyler play in the past. It seemed like a perfect match for Kol.

He looked up from the TV screen and saw her standing in the doorway. “You’re back early,” he commented by kept playing his game.

“Didn’t feel like sticking around any longer,” she said and walked into the room.

“How was your evening?” he asked paused the game and moved to sit on the edge of the bed.

“Prom night from Hell,” she replied and moved so she stood about two feet from him. “The only thing that was missing was pig’s blood and burning the whole place down with everyone inside.” Kol gave her a confused look. “Right, you’ve probably never seen _Carrie._ It’s a movie, outcast witch girl wins Prom Queen but it’s a joke, popular kids drench her in pig’s blood in front of everyone, and then she massacres them.”

“Sounds like my kind of party,” he smirked but turned serious and took her hand. “But not so much yours, what happened?”

Bonnie gave a sigh and looked down at their entwined fingers. “I don’t even know where to start. It was just all wrong.”

“Talk to me,” he whispered and squeezed her hand.

“Chronologically?” he gave a chuckle and nodded. “Okay, the first minute was good then I encountered the newly switched off Elena who made it no secret that she blames me for every bad thing that’s happened to her.”

“You know you’re not to blame, right?” Kol interrupted. “You are not her baby sitter or her guardian, she has made her own decisions and they have gotten her to where she is today. You can’t be blamed for any of that, Bonnie.”

“I left after that, or at least I attempted to leave, then I ran into Silas.” Kol immediately sat up right. “I’m okay, physically anyway,” she calmed him. “He was appearing to me as Jeremy,” she said and could practically feel Kol tense. “And I actually believed that it was Jeremy, it wasn’t until he started talking about dropping the veil that it hit me that it was Silas.”

“Then to top it all off, Elena tried to kill me, twice.” The grip on her hand tightened and Kol immediately stood up. His eyes scanned over her for any sign of injuries but she placed her hands on his chest. “A nifty skill I’ve gained with Expression, I healed myself,” she told him. “The thing is, I probably would have killed her if Damon and Stefan hadn’t come out and stopped me.”

“Please don’t tell me you feel guilty for that,” Kol nearly pleaded of her and placed both his hands on her cheeks.

Her fingers wrapped around his wrists and she shook her head. “I don’t feel guilty for defending myself against someone who was trying to kill me, even if they were a friend.”

“I’m sorry, Bonnie,” he frowned and pulled her into him and wrapped his arms tightly around her body.

“Oh, and I won Prom Queen,” she said into his shoulder with a laugh that could be deemed pathetic. “Sounds like such a big deal after everything, doesn’t it?”

“Isn’t that what Rebekah’s been babbling about all week?” Kol wondered aloud and Bonnie nodded. He let out a laugh. “I bet Bekah is pleased with that.”

“Apparently Elena tried to threaten April into rigging the votes so Bekah would win but April didn’t do it.”

“I’ll be honest with you, I kind of want to destroy Elena,” he admitted to her, the corner of his lips turned upwards in a devious smirk at the thought of ripping the doppelganger’s heart out. “She had no right to do that to you. Not after everything you have done and sacrificed for her.”

“I just want to back away from it all for a bit,” she said to him and pulled away from him enough so she could look him in the eye. “My best friend trying to kill me kind of makes me want to drop everything and have a bit of a breather.” Her hands moved up to cup either side of his face. “I just want to forget every crappy, life threatening thing happening right now and stay here with you.”

Kol inhaled deeply before removing her hands from his face. “Bonnie…” he started but she jumped in.

“I don’t need space from you, Kol, I just need you,” she told him and held his hands in hers. “But if you still do want space then that’s fine I’ll go but – “

Kol pulled her to him, one arm looping around her waist while the other hand rested on her cheek. “Don’t you dare go,” he placed a soft but lingering kiss to the corner of her mouth.

Her hands were on his shoulders and she turned her head and pressed her lips to his.

“I love you,” she gave a soft smile and traced her fingertips across his cheek. She bit down on her bottom lip when he kissed along her jaw, she could feel his mouth turned up in a smile. “And you love me,” she whispered out with a soft moan and her eyes closed when he nipped her jaw.

“I do,” one of his hands cupped her cheek. “So much,” he said before giving her a kiss so passionate it had her stomach in knots and her head spinning. She clutched onto him and responded with everything she had.

Kol’s hands ran down her sides and settled on her hips. “You look so beautiful,” he complimented against her lips and gently squeezed her hips and pulled her even closer to his body.

Bonnie’s fingers threaded through his soft hair and gently bit down on his lower lip, eliciting a small moan from him, exactly what she wanted.

She pulled their mouths away for just a few moments, long enough to regain some much needed oxygen. One of his hand snaked up her back and his fingers brushed the zipper of her dress. The pause was a silent question to her if she was sure. She nodded and pulled his mouth back to hers.

She felt the dress loosen around her and the sound of the zipper pulling apart from the metal teeth mixing with the sound of their heavy breathing and kissing. The dress didn’t completely fall from her body when he pulled the zip the whole way down so with the aid of his hands the dress began to slide down her body and pool at her feet.

The feel of the luscious fabric of her dress was replaced by Kol’s warm hands as his hands traced over every inch of skin he could reach. Her mouth opened in a silent moan –too busy breathing in more air- as he pulled away from her lips to kiss down her throat, his hands moving to her hips again. He bent his knees a bit as he placed kisses across her chest.

The hand in his hair gripped a little tighter when he kissed along the tops of her breasts that spilled out from her strapless bra. Her breath hitched in her throat when he gave the soft skin a gentle nip followed by a swipe of his warm tongue.

She yanked his head back up to attack his lips again. She kicked her heels off and jumped out, his hands gripping her thighs to keep her steady against him. “Need you,” she whispered breathlessly against his lips.

He smiled and turned around with Bonnie in his arms to lay her on the bed.  Her heartbeat was rapid as he began to kiss down the centre of her chest, between her breasts and down her stomach. She arched her back up when his tongue swirled around her navel and the grip she had on his hair tightened.

She breathed out his name – about the only coherent word her mind was capable of forming. Bonnie was in a haze, her mind was clouded. Kol invaded her every sense and she didn’t want it any other way.

Her breathing picked up when she felt his fingers hook the waistband of her underwear and slowly began to pull them down her legs, lips trailing after them with a kiss here and there. She was beginning to burn up with desire and his body slid back up hers so their lips could meet.

One hand settled beside her head –holding up his weight- and the other snaked behind her back and found the clasp of her bra. He undid it and removed the slip of fabric from her body, tossing it over his shoulder leaving her completely naked under him.

She didn’t want to feel his clothes against her heating skin, she wanted nothing between them so she grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled it up and he assisted in getting it over his head. His pants were next as her hands moved down his toned torso and her fingers quickly unbuttoned and pulled down the zip (thankfully he hadn’t put a belt on) and like always, nothing was underneath his jeans.

Bonnie cracked a grin and both of them pushed down the rough denim down his legs until nothing was between them and their bodies pressed together. Her smile didn’t last long and was replaced by a look of sheer desire when she felt his erection pressing against her core.

Their tongues tangled and Kol’s hand began to wander down between their bodies. A sigh of relief escaped her when she felt his finger gently run up and down her core. She was getting so worked up she could barely stand it.

“God, you’re gorgeous,” he moaned when she threw her back as he slipped a finger inside, moving it at a steady pace before adding another.

Her arms wrapped around his shoulders and held him tight to her, her breasts pushing against his chest. She was getting desperate for release as he began to whisper delicious things into her ear but his pace slowed down. He was teasing her.

“Kol,” it was just a whisper, but the warning was clear. She felt his smirk against her cheek. “We have all night. Please.”

He slowly removed his fingers and kissed her passionately, drinking in her quiet moans. He pressed himself –hard and hot- against her core but he wasn’t quite ready to stop the teasing.

His hips grinded against hers and a sharp gasp escaped her as he slid his length against her core slowly but over and over again, driving her mad.

“I’m about to fry your brain,” she moaned out and her smooth legs wrapped tightly around his hips, trying to push him.

“You’re not going to be sleeping much tonight,” he smirked down at her before pushing inside of her. He groaned loudly when he was engulfed in her tight warmth.

His name came from her lips merged with a moan as he moved with steady but deep thrusts. She threw her head back against the pillow, bearing her neck to him in a way that was far too tempting and as if she knew what he was thinking she nodded.

She wanted him to and he would but not just yet. He knew as soon as he bit into that soft flesh and tasting the intoxicating taste of her sweet blood, it’d be over and he was quite ready for that. Besides, he was enjoying driving her crazy with desire way too much.

His pace quickened and her back arched off the bed as she met his thrusts. One hand dug into her hair so he could bring her lips to his, kissing her almost brutally.

God, he’s missed her. Sure she’s been around but it hasn’t been the same. Not being able to kiss her when he wanted or feel her soft skin against his….or know now…rip her clothes off but now that she was here, he wasn’t letting go again. They were too good together and he knew she felt the same.

She pushed his face away and moved it down to her neck. “Do it,” she muttered and her legs tightened.

First, he bit into his own wrist for her –which she grabbed and brought down to her mouth- before placing gentle kisses and bites to her neck, preparing her. He almost exploding at the loud moan that filled his ears when he bit into her neck and he didn’t bother holding back his when her sweet blood touched his tongue.

He matched his drinks with his thrusts, he’d thrust then suck and the way she’d tightened around him when he did, let him know how close she was.

Her fingers dug into the shoulder that her other hand was holding and she couldn’t even hold back her moans. She was going completely crazy. His name was leaving her lips and he pulled away from her neck, letting her drink a bit more of his to heal up the wound before he pulled away his wrist and met her sweet lips again.

“Let go,” he whispered lovingly against her lips and she did. He pulled back from her mouth to hear the enticing sounds that left her mouth and after a few more deep thrusts, he was following, burying his face in her neck and holding her tightly.

They just laid there, still and quiet –save for their heavy breaths and pants- with arms wrapped around each other, basking in the aftermath.

It was a few short minutes before Kol rolled off Bonnie and pulled the covered of the bed down so the both of them could get under it. Kol wasted no time in wrapping her back up in his arms, her back to his front. He breathed in the scent of her shampoo and kissed her on the cheek.

“Thought I wasn’t getting much sleep tonight?” Bonnie questioned and threw a cheeky grin over her shoulder at him.

He leaned in and kissed her nose. “I thought I’d allow a bit of time for you to catch your breath,” he grinned.

“How kind of you,” she replied with a small laugh and put her head back down on the soft pillow. “I didn’t realise how much I missed you,” she said and her hand ran up and down the arm that was tightly around her, “until tonight and now…”

“I know,” he agreed and closed his eyes, enjoying having her in his arms again. “Get some rest,” he said and smirked against her cheek. “You’ll need it.”

xxx

Bonnie’s eyes slowly opened and began to adjust to her dark surroundings. She wasn’t sure what exactly woke her from her peaceful slumber but the room felt cold and she didn’t think that it had anything to do with her current lack of clothing.

She sat up, clutching the sheet tightly to her chest. Her eyes scanned the room,

“Silas,” she said his name with a dark whisper. “What the hell are you doing here?” she questioned him and turned to Kol, nudging his side to wake him up.

“I wouldn’t bother,” he said to her and remained in the shadow of the room, concealing his true identity from her.  Bonnie realised that it was the first time that she had heard his real voice, it was harsh and sounded worn and it made a chill course through her. It was like the voice of the Devil.

“What did you do to him?” she demanded and kept trying to wake the vampire beside her.

“Nothing,” he replied. “It’s your head I’m in, not his. I only wish to speak to you.”

“I’m dreaming, aren’t I?”

“In a way,” he said. “You are asleep, yes, but this isn’t a dream.”

“What do you want?” she tried to keep her tone strong, trying to not let him intimidate or frighten her but it was hard when he caught her in a vulnerable position. Subconsciously, she tightened the arm that kept the sheet to her chest.

“We never got to finish our conversation earlier,” he said and began to pace the shadows. “There are still matters that we need to discuss.”

“There is nothing we need to talk about,” she glared at him. “I’m not doing anything for you and I’m sure as hell not dropping the veil to the Other Side.”

“I want you to get me the cure,” he said and took a step forward but not quite enough to bring him out of the shadow cloaking him. “And help me to die.”

Bonnie arched a brow at the Immortal. “You want me to help you die? Why can’t you just kill yourself?”

“I’m Immortal, Bonnie, I cannot kill myself and if I take the cure while the veil is up and die, I’ll be stuck there with Qetsiyah forever,” he explained to her, “playing exactly into her plans.”

“I’m not going to drop the veil,” she repeated herself. “I refuse to.”

“You will. It’s the only way to truly get rid of me Bonnie. If you don’t, I’ll simply keep harming those you love until you do but make no mistake, you will drop the veil for me,” he threatened her, his voice dropping to a low timber that almost had her shaking. “I can kill your cousin, you friends and your lover. It’ll be easy for me to do so but you can avoid it all by just doing what I ask.”

Bonnie spared a look to the sleeping Original beside her before turning her attention back to the Immortal. “Even if I wanted to give you the cure, I couldn’t. I don’t even know where it is.”

“Then let me take care of that bit,” he said. “You just sit tight until the full moon.”

“I want one thing, too,” she requested. “I want to see your true face.”

A chuckle escaped him. “There has only been one person who has seen my true form and she’s the one who made me this way. I suppose it’s only fitting her descendant be the other.”

With that Silas stepped out of the shadow and the light from the moon shone down on him. Bonnie remained silent and still as she looked upon him. Before her, stood a disfigured man, face covered in scars and burns.

“Qetsiyah did this to you?” Bonnie asked.

Silas nodded. “She was a rather temperamental woman,” he told her. “She did not handle my rejection of her love well and now I hope you understand the amount of trust I am putting in you, Bonnie. Now that you have seen my true face, I am no longer able to get inside your head but make no mistakes, you go against me and someone you love dies in front of you.”

Bonnie woke up with a startled gasp that brought Kol out of his sleep. Immediately, he tightened his arms around her. “You okay?” he asked and gently stroked her arm, lips pressing to her cheek.

She nodded her head and gave him a quick smile. “Just a dream,” she told him and placed her head back on his shoulder but it was useless trying to get back to sleep after her encounter with Silas.

“Your heart rate is insane,” Kol commented after a few minutes. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Bonnie lifted her head from his shoulder. “I’m going to go get some water,” she said and untangled herself from Kol. The green eyed witch grabbed Kol’s shirt from the floor and slipped it over her head. “I’ll be back.”

Bonnie carefully made her way downstairs to the kitchen in the dark and took a cup from one of the cabinets. She sighed as she filled up her glass with water. Of course the moment she decides she wants nothing to do with it all, she gets pulled straight back in and smack dab in the middle of it all.

She gulped down the water but the glass slipped from her hand with gasp when she saw the shadow approaching her. All he did was hold up a small white box in his hands then he vanished just as Kol appeared beside her. Bonnie supposed with the loud crash of the glass shattering to the floor, she didn’t exactly give Silas enough time to tell her anything.

“What’s wrong? What happened?” He questioned and too her face in his hands and sent a quick look around the kitchen.

“Nothing,” she shook her head and leaned into him. “I thought I saw something. I guess I’m still a little jumpy after the whole Silas and Elena thing.”

Kol’s arms slipped around her and hoisted her up, her legs immediately wrapping around his waist.

She gave a short laugh and bit down on her lower lip. “You forgot to put pants on,” she said to him.

“Wasn’t my first thought when I thought something happened to you,” his lips brushed against hers and Bonnie’s eyes closed when Kol pushed the hem of the shirt she wore over her hips and began to move against her slowly.

“Already?” she sighed and her legs tightened around him. She bit down harder on her lip to contain her moan when she felt his fingers begin to rub her.

“I’m always ready when it comes to you,” he grinned and kissed the spot behind her ear.

xxx

They wound up back in their bed, both awake and tangled up under the sheets while a comfortable and content silence filled the room. Bonnie was curled up to his side, head on his chest and tried to enjoy the soothing feeling of Kol’s fingers softly brushing through her hair.

Her mind couldn’t let go of what she had basically agreed to do not even twenty four hours after deciding to stay away from it all. One thing was clear, though…there was no way in hell she would help Silas achieve want he’s always wanted, not while he’s caused them all so much pain and suffering, not when he murdered Jeremy.

She wasn’t going to give him what he wanted but she also knew she couldn’t do this on her own. She’d need help.

Bonnie knew she had to be careful with this; she had to plan it out. She had the advantage of Silas no longer being able to get inside her head and she was going to exploit that but with Silas hanging around Mystic Falls, it was too risky to include any one of her friends in her plans, not while Silas could poke around in their heads any time he wanted.

And there was only one person she could think of to help her pull this off.

Katherine Pierce.

xxx

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MERRY CHRISTMAHANUKWANZAAKAH EVERYONE!  
> How many times do I need to apologise to all of you? I’m sorry! But like I said in the previous AN, I had started a new course which I wanted to give most of my attention to plus this chapter was a real bitch. But now I’ve completed the course so I’m free until February! Yay!  
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Shit gets real from here on and it’s going to be heaps of fun for me to write AND I already have a sequel planned out which I’m excited for!  
> Thank you all for the feedback (and for sticking with me throughout the long waits for updates which I am truly sorry for!) and please leave a review with your thought! And a picture of Bonnie’s dress can be seen on Kat Graham, just google Kat Graham Ripple Effect, but picture it as an emerald green instead :)   
> Any mistakes, I apologise. I tried to go through it but obviously I’ve missed a lot.  
> Also, just to let you all know, I’m working on a one shot that is set in the same universe as Fool Me Once but AU. It involves Bonnie being the anchor but Kol never came back when left in chapter 22, let’s just say Finn took Kol’s place during season 4.  
> Next Chapter: Bonnie and Katherine, Elijah discovers the cure is missing and that’s all I’m gonna tell you, but it’s gonna be another big chapter!


	33. Secrets and Lies

Bonnie managed to get Katherine’s phone number from Elijah’s phone (she didn’t even bother to question why he had it in the first place) while Kol was in the shower and Elijah and Lucy were downstairs doing whatever it is those two do.

She made sure to put the phone back the same way she found it (in Elijah’s pocket of his suit jacket, of course) and made her way back to Kol’s room. The shower was still running so she opened up a new message and began typing.

_We need to meet. Alone. You pick where._

_-Bonnie_

Bonnie deleted the message after she sent it and set her phone down beside her just as Kol came out of the bathroom, a towel hung low around his hips and water droplets sprinkled across his chest. She didn’t even try to hide her enjoyment as her eyes ran over his half naked body.

She saw his lips curl up in a smirk as he pretended not to notice her or her blatant wandering eyes moving over his form.

“I’m a man, Bonnie, not a piece of meat,” he pretended to be offended but couldn’t quite hide his smirk. “Stop trying to seduce me with your eyes.”

Bonnie couldn’t help but roll her eyes when he deliberately let the towel drop from his hips and pool around his feet. “Show off,” she muttered under her breath which got her a wink from Kol as he pulled on a pair of jeans.

She looked away from him when her phone vibrated beside her signalling Katherine’s reply. It was directions to a diner about a half hour out of Mystic Falls, to be there at five and to make sure she would be alone. Bonnie still wasn’t sure if meeting with Katherine was a good idea - no scratch that, she knew it wasn’t a good idea – but she had nowhere else to turn. Unfortunately, she also knew that Katherine wouldn’t do anything without getting something out of it.

“Everything okay?” Kol’s voice took her attention away from the text.

Her fingers quickly deleted the message before she smiled at him and nodded. “Just Caroline. Damon and Stefan have Elena, they’re going to try and turn her emotions back on.” It wasn’t really a lie; Caroline had sent her that message earlier that morning explaining the Elena situation that Bonnie was sure would end badly. “Also, I’m going to meet up with her later. She’s in a bit of a mood after what happened last night with Elena and then Tyler showing up and leaving again so I thought I’d try to cheer her up.”

“And how are you after last night?” he asked and sat down next to her on the edge of the bed.

Bonnie could tell by his tone what part of last night he was referring to –Elena trying to take a chunk out of her neck- but she decided to have a little bit of fun with him. “Which part of last night are you referring to?” she asked with a sly grin while repositioning herself so she could kiss slowly along his jaw line.

“What time did you have to meet with Caroline?” Kol groaned out when she nipped his jaw.

Bonnie smirked against him. “Not until this afternoon. Why, have any plans?” she asked innocently and continued to kiss down his neck.

Kol’s hands grabbed her hips and moved her so that she was straddling his lap; one arm snaked around her waist while his other hand tangled in her hair and moved her lips to his in a searing kiss.

He smirked against her mouth and Bonnie gave a girlish squeal when he flipped them over on the bed so he hovered above her. “Oh, I have plans.”

xxx

It was a little before five when Bonnie arrived at the diner Katherine mentioned. She sat down at a table in the middle of the diner (no way in hell would she be in a dark corner with Katherine), ordered herself a drink and waited for the vampire to arrive.

As she waiting she received a text message from Kol. A smile tugged at her lips when she read the message. It was a simple check-up text, making sure she was alright. He was still a little wound up from her telling him about Silas’ appearance at prom but she assured him she’d be okay and wouldn’t be gone long.

Bonnie felt a little guilty for what she was doing…okay she felt a lot guilty. Not even twenty four hours into the two of them finally getting back together and she was already lying to him. She told him she wanted a break from all the drama and while that was true, she couldn’t just ignore it when it dragged her back in only a few hours later.

And not wanting anyone to get hurt, she was keeping it all to herself. She knew Kol would do something drastic if she told him, so would Lucy. The Salvatore’s wouldn’t be much help and she didn’t want to put Caroline in Silas’ line of fire so it seemed logical to contact the only person who was devious enough to help Bonnie get what she wanted but of course, like everything with Katherine, her help would come at a price.

Bonnie took a sip of her drink and checked the time on her phone. It had just gone five o’clock. Just as she put her phone back on the table, the bell above the diner door chimed and Bonnie nearly rolled her eyes as Katherine strutted inside like she owned the damned place.

The witched watched carefully and alert as Katherine sat down in the seat across from her and casually picked up the menu.

“Got to say,” she started, her eyes scanning over the plastic menu, “I’m surprised you showed up. What with everything happening back in Mystic Falls with dear Elena. I thought you’d be right by her side, holding her hand and what not.”

Bonnie gave the vampire an annoyed look. “This has nothing to do with Elena or anyone else back home. And I’m the one who contacted you. Of course I would show up,” she folded her arms on the table top and eyed Katherine.

Katherine’s brown eyes met Bonnie’s green ones over the top of the menu. “And I was even more surprised when I got your little message. Never expected you to come to me for anything so whatever it is must be pretty big.”

Her tone was smug and Bonnie hated it.

“Silas,” Bonnie said and Katherine put down the menu and mimicked Bonnie’s posture. “You’re going to help me kill him.”

“Yeah…why would I want to do that?” Katherine arched a brow at Bonnie. “He’s making all your lives hell. I should send him something for that.”

Ignoring her last comment, Bonnie continued. “Well, since you kick started this whole mess it’s only fitting that you help me stop it.”

Katherine let out a chuckle. “Don’t put the blame on me, Bon Bon. You, Elena, the Salvatore’s….it’s all on you,” she leant back in her chair, her face smug. “You’re the ones who couldn’t let precious Elena deal with being a big bad vampire. If it weren’t for your need to baby every little thing that pathetic shadow of myself does….none of this would be happening right now.”

Bonnie tried to ignore what Katherine had said but she was also right but there was no way in hell she was going to let what she said affect her. “So you’re saying you wouldn’t have gone to the island to find the cure to beg for your freedom?”

“I wouldn’t have known where the island even was if it weren’t for you lot or even the cure. So yeah…it’s all on you, sweetie, not me.”

“I thought you were working with that hunter who was on the island?” Bonnie questioned.

“I have eyes and ears in Mystic Falls, Bonnie. I sought him out after I found out about the cure but enough of that and let’s get to the real reason you’ve come to little ole me. You know I’m not going to do what you want without a price,” she folded her arms across her chest. “So…how are you going to make this worth my while, Bonnie Bennett?”

“You gave the cure to Elijah without much of a fight. That was your last bargaining chip to get your freedom back from Klaus,” Bonnie started. “What if I could give you another way? One that would mean you could stop running for good?”

It was her turn to feel smug when the look of interest flashed across the doppelganger’s face. “You have my undivided attention.”

xxx

Lucy Bennett sat on the edge of the bed with her head in her hands. Every now and then she would hear a crash as Elijah through something else out of his way to find what they had worked hard to get and now it was gone.

She knew this would happen. That is why she never wanted to bring the cure back to Mystic Falls but Elijah assured her it would be fine and now the damn thing was missing.

“Who else has been here?” Elijah messed up his hair by running a hand through it as he looked around the room.

In all the time she had known him, she had never seen him lose his composure the way he had right now. His hair was out of place and his dress shirt crumpled. If it weren’t for the seriousness of the situation, she might had let herself admire her lover all dishevelled.

No one else had even been in this house since they returned. Bonnie wouldn’t have known where it was and Kol would never have taken it. He was the only one more determined than them to use it on Silas. Even Klaus didn’t even know if they had it or not. Not that he had use for it anyway. According to Elijah, Klaus wasn’t interested in making more hybrids after he had to slaughter all that was left of them.

“It had to have been Silas,” Lucy said and raised her head up. “He tried to get to Bonnie at the prom, she said that he can get inside people’s heads,” she stood and walked over to him, taking his hands in hers. “Maybe he did that to you. Got into your head, saw where you put the cure.”

Elijah didn’t answer her and looked around the room with a scowl.

“Maybe we should try and find that hunter from the island,” Lucy suggested and forced Elijah to look at her. “We know that Silas can’t get inside any of the Five’s head. He could be our best shot at fighting Silas and getting the cure back.”

“He would be half way across the world by now,” Elijah replied. “There wouldn’t be enough time to track him. Who knows the damage Silas could cause before then.”

“Then what are we supposed to do?” Lucy dropped Elijah’s hands and ran her fingers through her hair. “Silas isn’t going to take the cure until the veil has been dropped completely and the Other Side destroyed and who knows what that will mean for Bonnie and I have no intentions of finding out. We have to get it back before he manages to get Bonnie to drop the veil.”

Lucy knew that it would be easy for Silas to get Bonnie to do what he wanted. As soon as Silas threatened someone she cared for, she’d do pretty much anything he asked. The older Bennett had always admired her cousin’s heart but in times like these it was more of a curse. Sometimes you have to sacrifice a few to for the greater good.

“And we can’t risk any of the others obtaining it,” Elijah added, concerning lacing his voice.

Elijah, Lucy, Kol and Bonnie were the only ones planning on using the cure to destroy Silas, all the rest wanted it for selfish reasons.

“Should we tell Kol?” As soon as she asked she knew the answer would be no. Kol would lose his shit if he found out they Cure had been taken from right under their noses. Not to mention he would go into overdrive trying to protect Bonnie.

“Not a good idea,” Elijah answered her. “Even if we could somehow track down Silas, getting close enough to him to get the Cure back would be impossible.”

“But he is going to appear sooner or later so maybe we can wait it out,” Lucy said. “He’s not going to try anything until he has Bonnie willing to drop the veil so all we need to keep a close eye on her until then, then maybe by then we will have a plan to get the Cure back.”

xxx

Kol was out at the grill having a drink when his (new) phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and rolled his eyes when Rebekah’s name appeared on the screen.

“What do you want, darling sister?” he greeted her flatly and took another drink.

“Thought you’d be interested in knowing that Elena got out of the cell they were keeping her in. She’s out and she’s alone, thought you’d like to know that -especially after what she did to Bonnie last night.”

Kol perked right up at what Rebekah said. That definitely was something he was interested in knowing.

“Is this your version of an olive branch, dear sister?”

“What can I say? I miss my annoying brother.”

This happened every time the two of them had a dispute. One would reach out to the other, usually involving some kind of killing or maiming, and then they were right for the next century or at least until one pissed off the other.

“Where is she now, Bekah?” Kol asked and finished off the rest of his drink.

“Last I heard she was off in the woods,” she answered. “The Salvatore’s have used Matt as bait to lure her out so you better find her first.”

Kol rolled his eyes and made his way out of the Grill. “Please don’t tell me you’re still hung up on that human,” he chided his sister.

“Don’t start, Kol,” Rebekah said. “You’re doing this because you love Bonnie and she got hurt, well I care about Matt and I don’t want Elena to hurt him. He can’t defend himself against her like Bonnie can and I figured I’d try to mend this between us and let you take it but I’ll be happy to handle it myself only I will kill her.”

Kol had no plan to kill Elena –Bonnie would never forgive him if he did- he just wanted to make sure she was aware of the massive mistake she made when she attacked Bonnie, her supposed best friend.

He took off in the direction of the woods as soon as he exited the Grill. He knew being an uncontrollable vampire that had just been starved; she’d probably stick close to the roads hoping to snack on some poor bastard driving past so he kept close to the edge of the woods, senses on high alert.

It didn’t take him as long as he thought it would to track her down. She looked like a wild animal that had just been released from its cage.

Kol whistled to get her attention.

Her head snapped in his direction and a low growl escaped her. “What the hell are you doing here?” she sneered at him and looked around, either for something to eat or keeping an eye out for either Salvatore brother that are no doubt on her tail.

He’d have to be quick.

“Oh, I know,” Elena smirked. “Bonnie ran straight to you last night, didn’t she? She ran crying to Prince Charming and now you’re here to fight her battles.”

“Keep talking, Elena, you’re only going to make this worse for yourself.”

Not having any humanity prevented her from feeling the fear she should be feeling right now and that made her incredibly stupid. Even with her emotions, Elena wasn’t stupid enough to provoke Kol this way.

“I should have finished her off,” she continued. “I would have done her a favour if I had. She’s nothing now.”

“I’m not here to talk, Elena but you should thank Bonnie the next time you see her.”

“And why’s that? For being a pain in my ass? For never being able to do things without screwing them up for me?”

Kol was in front of her within seconds, one hand wrapped tightly around her throat while the other impaled in her chest, gripping her heart in his fist.

Elena was sputtering and coughing, his hand too tight around her throat for her to say anything and his hand around her heart was gradually getting tighter and tighter, eventually he would crush it between his hands and that would be it of her.

She’d be dead for good.

He heard her manage to get out his name and he could see the begging in her eyes. Then there was fear.

She was beginning to feel something.

“She has been there for you through everything and she had lost nearly everything,” Kol growled. “And this is how you repay her for that? You try to kill her. You act like she is the biggest burden in your life.”

Elena had her hands wrapped around both of his wrists and tried to speak so Kol removed his hand from her neck. She heaved in a breath, followed by a guttural cry of pain.

“You nearly killed her, Elena. The one person who you could always count on, you nearly killed.”

There were tears welling up in her eyes. He wasn’t sure if it was from the pain, frightened she was about to die or that she realised how much she fucked up in going after Bonnie. Maybe it was all three, either way she was feeling something.

Kol smirked. The Salvatore’s had been at this all day and failed miserably whereas it took him only a few minutes to get a reaction out of her.

“What would you have done had you killed her?”

He acted like he was about to rip her heart from her chest and she let out a sound somewhere between a cry and a scream.

“I’m sorry,” she finally whimpered and tears began to stream down her face. “God, I’m so sorry, Bonnie,” she closed her eyes and cried. “I never wanted to heart her.”

“You did,” was all he said before he clenched her heart in his fist once more before pulling back his hand and let her fall to the ground in a crying heap.

“Elena!” one of the Salvatore brothers called out.

“Right on time,” Kol muttered and wiped his blood stained hand on his jacket just as the two of them appeared through the trees with Matt trailing close behind them.

Stefan ran straight to Elena’s hysterical self while Damon stood grounded and looked between Elena and Kol.

“You’re welcome, boys,” Kol gave them both a smug smile. “She’s all yours now.”

xxx

Kol ran a hand through his hair as he slowly walked towards his room but he was not expecting what he saw. He arched a brow at the sight before him when he entered his bed room. There on his bed, acting like she owned the damn place was the face of Elena Gilbert only not.

“Well since I nearly ripped Elena’s heart out not half an hour ago, I doubt it’s her so you must be Katherine,” he deduced.

“We have a winner,” she winked at him. “I have to say I’m impressed, not many people can figure out who I am so quickly without thinking I’m Elena first, not even Elijah.”

Unlike his siblings and half of this Goddamn town, Kol had never been wrapped around the finger of a Petrova doppelganger. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“We make a good team, don’t you think?” she swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood, sauntering over to him. “I let Elena out of that cell for a reason, Kol. I knew you’d find her,” she ran a finger across his chest. “Though I was kind of hoping you’d kill her,” she muttered to herself. “She nearly tore your sweet witch apart. Speaking of the witch,” Katherine’s eyes sparkled. “She’s why I’m here. Sort of.” Kol became alert at the mention of Bonnie and waited for her to continue. “She’s a sneaky one. She’s been with me nearly all evening, trying to coerce me into her little schemes.”

“What’s going on?” Kol demanded, already tired of her games. “If you don’t get to the real reason you are here, I will kill you.”

He wasn’t his brothers. He held no attachment or attraction to the doppelganger standing in front of him. He’d kill her without a thought.

All façade dropped and her eyes narrowed, determination appeared on her face. “I lost my last chance at freedom giving that cure to Elijah but now Bonnie has offered me a new one. Unfortunately, I don’t trust that she’ll come through with it so now you are going to give me what I want.”

“What is she doing?”

“I don’t know. We got interrupted but I am meeting her in half an hour. How that goes, depends on you.”

He gestured for her to keep talking.

“She’s determined to get rid of Silas. She’s going to drop the veil and I can tell you when and where if you get my freedom from Klaus. And like I said, I don’t trust the little witch to come through with whatever she offers me but you….I know you would do whatever it takes to keep her safe which makes you my best option of getting what I want.”

Kol scoffed. “You’re a little behind on the current Mikaelson drama, Katherine. Klaus isn’t going to do anything for me let alone if it benefits you. In fact, seeing the both of us suffer would please him greatly.”

Her eyes narrowed further and she gritted her teeth. “Then make him or else we have no deal and I won’t tell you a damn thing about what your little witch is planning or when and I will let her die, might even kill her myself. It’d be a waste of a witch but I’ll do it if I have to.”

Kol’s hand immediately closed around Katherine’s throat. “Coming here and giving me ultimatums, not very smart,” he growled in her face, “threatening Bonnie, incredibly stupid.”

 Katherine kept herself composed and struggled against him very little.  She knew she couldn’t fight her way out of this but she could sure as hell talk her way out of it.

“I know what lowering the veil means,” she croaked out, his tight grip making it difficult to speak. “And believe me I don’t want it lowered any more than you do.” She didn’t really care to be honest; she was just telling him what he wanted to hear. “I can tell you everything she’s doing and planning so you can stop her. All you have to do is give me my freedom.”

Kol dropped his hand from around her throat and harshly pushed her away from him. “How about this, you tell me what I want and I let you leave this house alive and if Bonnie is alive after all this, maybe, just maybe I’ll get you what you want.”

“I suppose I’ll have to take what I can get from you,” Katherine picked herself up and made sure her hair was in place. “But if you don’t keep Klaus away from me until then I will kill Bonnie, make no mistake about that. She holds no value to me.”

Kol’s fists clenched at his sides as he watched Katherine saunter away like she didn’t just threaten the life of the woman he loved. He was torn. Part of him wanted to tear Katherine limb from limb but the rational side of him knew that Bonnie would end up finding someone else to work with, at least this way he could keep an eye on her knowing that there was nothing Katherine Pierce wanted more than her freedom from his brother.

As long as she believes he can give her that, she’ll comply and he can keep a close eye on Bonnie.

xxx

Bonnie arrived back at the diner before Katherine did, where she went off to was beyond Bonnie but she didn’t really care. After that encounter with Silas and Caroline’s mother nearly dying because of the decision she had made, Katherine’s trivial trips were the least of her concerns.

But all that didn’t defer Bonnie from her plans, if anything it made her more determined to see it through. She would link together the Expression triangle on the next full moon –that was only days away- and she would bring down the veil.

Katherine would get her immortality and Bonnie would get the way to finally remove Silas permanently from their lives.

“Alright, Bon-Bon,” Katherine said and slid into the seat across from her. “How are we going to do this? If I’m going to put my ass on the line, I’m going to need a few more details.”

“You mean, am I bluffing with this immortality spell?” Bonnie saw Katherine. She was just doubting the bits that benefited her.

The doppelganger shrugged shamelessly. “You may not be the weakest witch on the block, but I seriously doubt you know how pull off a spell like that so I want to make sure I’m not risking my life for nothing.”

Bonnie folded her arms. “You’re right, I don’t know how to do that spell but Qetsiyah does and for me to contact her I’m going to need her headstone. You know, the one you stole.”

Katherine gave her an exaggerated pout. “And here I am thinking you wanted my help for my company.”

“Can you get me the headstone?” Bonnie questioned. Katherine gave her a pointed look. “Then I’ll get you your spell. Just keep me alive and keep people away from me until then.”

Katherine pursed her lips and tilted her head slightly to the side as she examined the witch across the table. “I suppose I can handle that. You have yourself a deal.”

xxx

Kol waited up until he heard Bonnie return much later in the evening, almost one am. When she walked into the room she looked stressed and worried and as soon as she noticed him there she tried to cover it with an easy smile.

“You okay?” he asked her and wrapped her up in his arms when she went over to him.

“Just tired,” she sighed into his chest and held him tighter than usual.

He laid a kiss to the top of her head and just held her. He wished that she would open up to him, tell him where she had really gone today and who with but he knew she wouldn’t. He knew she believed she was protecting everyone by doing this, by trying to bring Silas down on her own but she wasn’t. She was just going to get herself killed.

But he will be there and stop it before it happened. If she wasn’t going to protect herself than he sure as hell would.

He would do whatever it took.


	34. Old Friends & Enemies

“Katherine, I swear to God if you don’t tell me what I want to know the next time I see you I will rip out your tongue followed by several other body parts,” Kol threatened the doppelganger on the other end of the phone.

It had been three days since Katherine appeared in his bedroom with the proposition that they help each other out and this morning was the first time he had heard from her since and Kol really didn’t care that Katherine was ruining her boots following Bonnie around. That was not the kind of details he wanted to know.

 “Fine but when I’m done with this and free from Klaus, you can buy me a replacement pair.”

“Katherine,” he slowly growled out her name and he could practically hear her rolling her eyes at him.

“She’s linking the sites where the three massacres took place,” Katherine finally told him. “She mentioned something about needing to link the Expression triangle before lowering the veil - which by the way she plans on doing tonight.”

“Where is she lowering it?” Kol asked and motioned for the bar tender to give him another drink. His girlfriend wanting to unleash hell on earth was a good enough reason to kick start day drinking at ten in the morning in his opinion.

“No idea,” she answered. “She’s keeping me on a need to know when to know basis which is seriously pissing me off. I’m risking my ass for this so I think that warrants me knowing what the hell she’s planning.”

“Where is she now?”

“Where the twelve witches were killed,” she told him. “Soon to be thirteen if she doesn’t start talking.”

“If you wish to join the rest of your dearly departed doppelganger family then keep it up, Katherine.”

“Oh, calm down, just a figure of speech,” Katherine said, unfazed by his threat. “Your little witch is in good hands until I get what I want from the both of you.”

“What’s she offering you?”

“Now that is none of your concern.”

“Our deal –

“Our deal was I tell you where she’s lowering the veil and I don’t know where that will be yet,” Katherine finished for him. “Believe me; you’ll know when I know.”

“I have a hard time believing anything you say,” Kol ran a hand over his face, annoyed and frustrated by the entire situation. “Just keep me updated,” he said before hung up without another word.

 

Kol waited a few minutes before he dialled Bonnie’s number and waited for her to pick up. It kept ringing for so long he started to wonder if she was planning on picking up at all but eventually she did.

“Hey,” her voice came through the phone and Kol instantly felt a sense of relief from simply hearing her voice. This whole thing had put him on edge,

“Hey,” he said back. “How are the graduation preparations coming?” he asked, referring back to what she told him this morning that’d she’d be doing all day.

“Kind of boring actually,” she answered. “Elena, Caroline and I decided to skip out and grab some lunch at the grill,” she told him.

Kol nearly laughed when he looked over his shoulder and saw the two girls in question over by the dart board with his sister – what she was doing there with them he didn’t know nor did he care - and Bonnie nowhere in sight. “You could always skip out on them and come find me. I could think of a few things we could do to that wouldn’t bore you in the slightest.”

Bonnie let out a small laugh and Kol cherished the sound of it. “I wish that I could but with Elena trying to sneak away any chance she gets to go after Katherine, Caroline’s turned into a bit of a warden.”

“Sounds like Caroline has her hands full with Elena she may not even realise you’re gone,” he tried to tempt her away.

“You’ll get to have me all to yourself after graduation,” she told him. “I promise.”

“I’m going to hold you to that,” he said with a sly grin. “With Klaus heading back to New Orleans and Elijah going with him, I’m going to have that entire mansion all to myself and I’ll need company.”

“And I look forward to that,” she said and he could hear the smile in her voice. “But right now I do have to go. I’ll try and come around later on tonight.”

“If you want to sneak away, you know where to find me,” he told her.

“Stop trying to seduce me away from my friends,” she playfully chided him.

_If you only you were around your friends and not a vampire doppelganger only looking out for herself, he_ wanted to say to her but held his tongue.

“Can’t blame a man for trying,” he settled for saying. “I’ll see you tonight, then?”

“Tonight,” she agreed. It was quiet for a few moments before she spoke again. “I love you,” her voice was soft, almost apologetic.

“I know,” he said. “I love you, too,” he told her, the two of them staying on the phone for a few more quiet seconds before she hung up.

“Elijah and Klaus are going back to New Orleans?” he heard Rebekah asked. Kol looked up and saw that she had occupied the stool next to his. He hadn’t even heard her approach him. “Why?”

Kol shrugged and put his phone back in his pocket. “Something about witches and Marcel, I wasn’t paying too much attention to whatever Elijah was saying.”

Rebekah’s blue eyes widened. “Marcel?”

“Yes. He has taken up residency in our old home and Niklaus is not pleased about it. Add in some witch drama and apparently it’s cause enough for our brothers to return.”

“Marcel is alive?” she questioned, shock still clear on her face.

Kol arched a brow at his sister. “Was he not before?”

Kol had been daggered when his family first arrived in New Orleans. Klaus had taken in out when they established a home for themselves in the French Quarter but it was only a few short years before the dagger found its way back in his heart. He knew of the witches and he knew of Marcel and his connection and bond to his brother and sister but whatever happened after Klaus had daggered him again was still unknown to him.

“Klaus or Elijah never told you why we left?”

Kol shook his head and took another drink. “They never told me, I never asked.”

Rebekah bit her lip, wondering whether or not she should tell Kol what happened that caused them to leave New Orleans. She knew that she could never tell him the real truth; she would hold that deep within her til well past her dying days, even then some. “The reason we left New Orleans was because father found us,” she told Kol. “The last we saw of Marcel, father had him strung up bleeding along with every other person in New Orleans we trusted and cared for,” Rebekah swallowed the lump in her throat as she remembered the last time she Marcel, the sight was one that was hard to forget. “We had no choice but to run while father burnt down everything we had built for ourselves. Elijah had stayed behind, trying to give myself and Klaus time to escape.”

Rebekah would never tell Kol that it was the decision of hers and Marcel’s that brought Mikael to town, a decision that she regretted nearly every day.

“I remember Klaus mentioning that you had a thing for Marcel,” Kol commented.

While Marcel was growing up, Kol had been in a coffin but when Klaus daggered Rebekah and after he turned Marcel, he took the dagger out of Kol. He was obviously back in his coffin by the time Rebekah and Marcel decided to take their secret relationship further.

“It was more than ‘just a thing’,” Rebekah said. “We were in love.”

Kol let out a mocking laugh that had his sister frowning. “When are you not in love, darling sister? Did you not say the same about Stefan Salvatore? I’m surprised you haven’t confessed your love to the Quarterback already.”

“Marcel was different,” Rebekah said quietly.

“Really, because as I recall it, as soon as he was given the choice, you or immortality, he chose immortality,” Kol said.

He lumped Marcel in the same category as Amy, a girl he was once in love with. As soon as she got what she wanted from him, she no longer cared. From then on, Kol never cared much for Marcel.

“He was nothing like her,” his sister said, knowing who he was thinking about. “Marcel did love me. Everything he did, he did for us.”

Kol couldn’t help but roll his eyes at his sister. “Do you realise how pathetic you sound?” he asked her and stood from his seat. “Marcel didn’t care for you, Bekah. He’s been alive all this time and he’s never tried to find you. He just wanted New Orleans; he wanted the home that our family built all for himself. Hell, he was probably the one who brought father to town.”

“I remember you once wanting to do the same,” Rebekah said and turned in her seat to look up at him.

“And I remember you running to our brother the first chance you got which earned me a dagger in the heart,” Kol replied. “And I never wanted to bring him to town, I wanted to go find him myself.”

“I told Klaus because I was scared, Kol,” Rebekah told him and stood so she was more level with him. “I didn’t want father to kill you and I knew he would have.”

“So better that Klaus put me back in a box for years on end?”

“Better you safe in a coffin than dead.”

“Did you feel the same when Klaus kept you locked away for nearly a century all because you wanted to stay with Stefan instead of running with him?” Kol questioned his sister, whose eyes flickered away from his and landed on the floor, silently answering Kol’s question. “Exactly.”

Kol moved passed his sister without another word and headed towards the front of the grill.

xxx

“All the sites have been linked,” Bonnie commented, more to herself than to Katherine.

“Great,” Katherine replied flatly from behind her. “So now can we get this show on the road? We’ve been here for over an hour.”

“To lower the veil I need to be at the centre of the Expression triangle,” Bonnie explained. “I’ll do the spell as soon as we get there then I’ll try and get into contact with Qetsiyah.”

“Where is the centre?”

“It’s the high school,” Bonnie answered and slung her bag over her shoulder. When she began to leave the remains of the farmhouse from the first massacre Katherine had no choice but to follow her.

She gave a little smile at the vampire’s annoyed groan at being pulled around. She’d be lying of she said she wasn’t enjoying this just a tiny bit.

“You’re going to lower the veil in the middle of the high school where anyone can walk in?”

Bonnie shook her head. “There are a whole bunch of caves that run under the town and there is one directly underneath the school. We can gain access through the boiler room. No one will bother us there; no one will find us.”

“No one to find our bodies when Silas or Qetsiyah butcher us.”

“Just keep quiet, Katherine.”

Bonnie was getting sick and tired of hearing the vampire speak but the doppelganger clearly loved the sound of her own voice and wasn’t about to quiet down any time soon.

“I just want to make sure that I’m not walking into a death trap,” the vampire replied, following after Bonnie like a puppy. The thought alone made the doppelganger want to growl and rip the witch’s throat out.

“Silas doesn’t know what we’re doing, he thinks we need the full moon to lower the veil and Qetsiyah is not a threat to us,” Bonnie said as the two of them reached her car parked outside the Young farm.

“Not to you maybe, you’re her descendant,” Katherine said and got into the car. “But from my experience, powerful dead witches are never particularly fond of vampires.”

“That’s because it’s usually a vampire’s fault they’re dead,” Bonnie said and started up the car. “And if you don’t want to piss of Qetsiyah, then maybe keep your mouth shut when I try to contact her.”

Katherine turned her head to face Bonnie and glared at the witch. “You’re getting a little too big for your britches there Bon-Bon. I’d like to see you treat me this way when I’m not linked to you and trailing after you like an obsessive puppy.”

Bonnie rolled her eyes at Katherine, dismissing her threat and drove off in the direction of the school, thanking whatever deity it was that kept Katherine quiet the whole trip there and didn’t speak again until they were down in the dark cave that Bonnie lit up with candles.

“So now you lower the veil and get my immortality spell from Qetsiyah, right?”

Bonnie finished lighting the candles before responding. “First, I ask her how to permanently kill Silas and then I ask her about the immortality spell.”

Katherine glowered. “You never mentioned asking Qetsiyah about killing Silas.”

“Why do you think I’m lowering the veil?” Bonnie shot Katherine a look as if to say _are you serious?_ “I’m not lowering it just to give you want you want. Qetsiyah is the only person who has put Silas down, I’d be an idiot not to ask her how she did it.”

“And if she doesn’t give you the immortality spell?”

“Then you don’t get it,” Bonnie said simply and stood in the middle of the cave, surrounded by the candles. “I never promised you the spell, Katherine, I promised that I ask about it for you and cast it if I got it but if Qetsiyah doesn’t want to share then I’m not going to push now hand me the rock.”

Katherine reluctantly handed over the bag she had been carrying all day. “This better work.”

Bonnie took the rock out of the bag and turned it over a few times in her hands before closing her eyes and concentrating.

“Probably should have asked before, but does this bring down the veil everywhere?” Katherine asked and sat herself down on one of the rocks.

Bonnie opened her eyes. “No, that’s why I had to link the sites together. It’s only going to drop within the Expression Triangle, nowhere else.”

“But Silas wants to drop it everywhere?”

“He doesn’t want to just drop the veil; he wants to destroy the veil completely so he can take the cure and die to move on to be with his human lover in the Afterlife. But that would mean all the dead supernaturals would be free to roam the earth again.”

Katherine let out a disgusted groan. “I can’t believe this is all over some two thousand year old love triangle.”

Bonnie closed her eyes again and began to focus on bringing down the veil. There wasn’t exactly a spell to go with it, it was more the energy and power from her Expression magic and channelling the sacrifices that would bring down the veil along with the blood of Qetisyah inside of the rock.

She just needed to focus.

Wind began to whirl around the cave, the flames of the candles and torches flickering and Bonnie’s hair whipping around her face. She could feel the power course through her and she could almost feel the veil begin to lift.

She felt a sticky wetness form around her hands as Qetsiyah’s blood began to seep out of the rock and onto the floor. The flames of the torches around her engorged suddenly and Bonnie felt the energy die down, she opened her eyes.

“Is that it?” Katherine asked as she looked around almost cautiously.

Bonnie nodded. “The veil’s down.”

Katherine gave a tight lipped smile. “Great. Now we can have a chat to great, great, great grandma then we can get this veil back up.”

Bonnie smirked at Katherine. “Don’t like the veil being down?”

“There may be one or two supernaturals that I’ve either killed or betrayed here,” Katherine shrugged and Bonnie scoffed.

“I think it may be more than one or two.”

xxx

Kol walked outside the mansion when the wind had begun to pick up and violent claps of thunder rumbled in the sky. Everything around him would light up whenever lightning struck.

He knew this wasn’t an average storm, this was caused by something supernatural and Kol let out a curse when he realised that Bonnie had finally dropped the veil. Katherine was supposed to contact him before she dropped it so he could be there to make sure Bonnie didn’t go through with it. Oh, he was definitely going to rip out the doppelganger’s tongue now, and that would definitely be followed a few other of her body parts.

Kol pulled his phone out and was about to verbally rip Katherine a new one when the phone fell from his hands and a sharp pain shot through his chest. He looked down and saw a sharp, wooden stake sticking out of his chest, only inches from his heart.

A deep, threatening growl rumbled through his chest as he grabbed a hold of the bloody point and ripped the stake out, prepared to use it on whichever fool was stupid enough to try and stake him. He slowly turned around to face whoever stood behind him but faltered when he met their eyes, so full of pain, anger and hatred but very familiar.

“You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this day, Kol,” she spat out his name with so much disgust he nearly laughed.  “To get my revenge for what you made me do.”

This time he did laugh. “Oh my dear Amy, threatening is not your strong suit, love.”

Fury flashed through her eyes. “That doesn’t really matter, though,” she replied and took a fearless step towards him.  “This isn’t about my threatening skills.”

Kol narrowed his eyes at her, the fact they he found no trace of fear unnerved him a little but it’s not like she could do him any real damage. It took far more than a few weak threats and stakes through the heart to kill him and she should know that.

“All those years of isolation on the Other Side must have destroyed most of your brain cells, Amy,” he smirked when a growl ripped from her throat. “It’s going to take far more than an average stake to kill me and you should know that.”

“I also know that I’m already dead.”

Kol did laugh this time. “Very observant, love.”

It was Amy’s turn to smirk. “I can’t die again, Kol and you should know that,” she mocked him. “But you…you can die.”

“There are only two ways you could make that happen so either you’re an extremely powerful witch or you have the White Oak Stake and I’m going to go with neither so good luck with that,” Kol chuckled but his grin soon dropped when she pulled out another stake from behind her back, this one looking very familiar to him.

“You mean this White Oak Stake?”

Kol growled and eyed both the stake and the vampire wearily. “Where did you get that?” The last he saw the stake Bonnie had taken it after she stopped Jeremy and Elena from using it on him. She told him that she had hidden it.

“It is incredibly boring over on the Other Side, Kol,” she said and stepped towards him. “There is no one to talk to over there, no one to keep you company, you’re all alone, isolated and since I had no family to watch over, I kept a very close eye on you. I was cheering those two on when they nearly killed you with this stake, hoping that you were finally going to get yours and suffer the same fate I did but then your little witch bitch arrived just in time,” a victorious grin began to appear. “And I saw where she hid the stake,” she grinned and waved the sharp piece of wood around like a prize. “And if you kill me I’ll just keep coming back to try again until I finally kill you.”

Amy suddenly went down to her knees, screaming, hands clutching her head. Kol looked over her hunched form towards the approaching figure and smirked before looking back down at the incapacitated vampire.

“Amy, darling, if you want to kill someone then kill them,” he advised as he picked up the stake she had dropped. “Or if you want to run your mouth, make sure they are weaker than you and don’t have witches for friends.” He flipped the stake over in his hand so his fingers curled around the point and held it out for the newcomer to take. “You did it so well last time.”

The woman took the stake from him and looked down at the vampire she had immobilised. Kol assisted her but taking a hold of Amy’s arm and pulled her to her feet, steadying the vampire.

“Still have witches fighting your battles,” Amy gritted out just before the stake went through her heart.

Kol let her fall to the ground then looked back at his old friend.

“She was right, though. Even from beyond the grave I’m still dealing with your scorned lovers,” she chided him with an amused smile and handed the stake back to him. “I would say you should keep this on you but that didn’t end up very well for you the last time.”

“You saw that did you?”

“I was more embarrassed than worried,” she grinned up at him. “Had they actually managed to kill you, I would have kicked your ass the moment you got to the Other Side.”

Kol laughed and pulled the woman into a tight embrace. “I’ve missed you ‘Gina.”

xxx

Now that the veil was down, all Bonnie had to do was contact Qetsiyah and hopefully get a way to end Silas for good.

“I don’t have all night, Bon-Bon,” Katherine stressed. “Some of us are on the run.”

Bonnie sent Katherine a dark glare. “It’s not my fault you piss off everyone you meet,” she said and closed her eyes again. “Now keep quiet, I have to focus. The more you talk to less likely she’ll appear.”

Bonnie breathed in deeply and focused on nothing else but bringing forth Qetsiyah. Part of her hoped that Qetsiyah ignored her calls, Bonnie didn’t want to give Katherine what she wanted, she had no plans on doing it anyway but she did hope that Qetsiyah had a way of killing Silas for good.

“Nothing’s happening,” Katherine stated the obvious.

Bonnie opened her eyes and glared at the vampire. “Maybe something would if you kept your damn mouth shut for more than a single minute.”

Katherine returned Bonnie’s glare but stayed quiet nonetheless.

Bonnie waited a few moments before returning to summoning Qetsiyah.

“Did you hear that?” she heard Katherine ask her.

“Keep quiet,” Bonnie growled but didn’t break her focus.

“No, I think someone is coming. Unlink me so I can go check it out.”

“If you think I’m going to unlink you then you’re not as smart as everyone makes you out to be.”

“I have vampire hearing, Bonnie,” Katherine spat out her name. “And someone is coming. If you don’t want to unlink me then, I don’t know, stretch the link or whatever.”

The witch let out an annoyed sigh. “Go take care of it,” Bonnie said to her.

Bonnie heard Katherine’s footsteps get further and further away and when she stopped hearing them completely, she opened her eyes and stopped the spell. Qetsiyah had no intention of showing herself, if she did she would had by now.

She obviously didn’t think Silas to be her problem anymore.

Katherine hadn’t been gone long and Bonnie was trying to think of a way to stop Silas without Qetsiyah’s help since she clearly wasn’t going to show herself any time soon if at all. She tried to think back to the stories Shane had told her about Silas and Qetsiyah. She had locked Silas in a tomb, left him with only the cure and without blood to sustain him he desiccated and eventually turned to stone.

It was a sharp pain in her stomach that caused Bonnie to cry out in both shock and pain. The link between her and Katherine was also physical so she had been right about someone being out there and whoever it was a kicking the crap out of Katherine.

What looked to be like a wound from a stake was soon followed by searing pain to the left side of her face, like she had pressed her cheek to a burning piece of metal and whoever had Katherine pressed against it wasn’t letting up anytime soon.

Bonnie had fallen to the ground, screaming in agony as she clutched her face and stomach. She heard someone calling her name and flashes of light danced across the cave walls as Stefan fell to knees next to her, followed by Caroline.

 “What’s happening?” Stefan asked her.

“Katherine,” Bonnie said. “We’re linked. Find her.”

“Unlink her!” Caroline said to Bonnie as Stefan ran out to find Katherine. “You need to unlink her, Bonnie.”

She tried to get past the pain long enough for her to break the spell that linked her and Katherine together but even when she broke it, the wounds were still there but soon enough her Expression magic began healing her, like it did the night Elena attacked her at Prom.

“Are you okay?” Caroline asked and put a hand on Bonnie’s back.

“Yeah,” Bonnie nodded and got to her feet. “After I unlinked her my magic healed me.”

“What were you even doing down here with Katherine?” Caroline asked, looking around the cave. “Aside from dropping the veil, of course.”

Bonnie felt around her cheek where it was burning to find it clear now. “I needed to talk to Qetsiyah and Katherine had the headstone.”

Caroline’s expression changed. It went from concerned and friendly to dark and anger. “Qetsiyah has no intentions of turning up, Bonnie,” she said in a voice so unlike her friend’s. Then she disappeared and another voice came from behind her, this one gruffer than Caroline’s. “I thought we had a deal, Bonnie.”

She spun around and saw the disfigured, cloaked form of the Immortal. “Silas,” she whispered out. “How did you do that? How are you doing this?” she questioned him. “You can’t get inside my mind anymore.”

“I told you want you wanted to hear,” Elijah’s voice said and she spun around to face the Original. “I let you think you had power over me.”

“But you didn’t,” this time it was Lucy. “And you don’t.” Silas decided to keep Lucy’s form for a while.  "Bonnie, you have no idea just how deep inside your head I am. I can make you see whatever I want you to see, I can make you do whatever I want you to do. Did you really think I wouldn’t know that you don’t need a full moon to bring down the veil?”

Bonnie backed up with every step Silas took towards her until her heels hit one of the rocks and she couldn’t go any further.

“I just thought I’d be nice and give you an extra power boost but if you didn’t want it you could have just said so,” Silas shrugged Lucy’s shoulders.

“You need to stay away from me,” Bonnie told him through clenched teeth.

“I would gladly stay away from you,” he said. “But only when you finish the spell and bring the veil down completely like we planned to in the first place.”

“I’m not going to do that,” Bonnie said. “I’m not going to unleash hell on earth.”

“I think you’ll want to,” he smirked. “Because when you do,” he pulled the cure out of his pocket. “I’ll be able to take this. I’ll even let you be the one to kill me and that’ll be it. You’ll be rid of me for good and really think about it, Bonnie. What’s worse, dead supernaturals roaming the earth or me?”

She didn’t answer. She didn’t have an answer. Both were terrible ideas to let happen.

“I am curious though,” he said and back away from her. “What was your plan here? A little chit chat with your ancestor, talk about the ways you can put me down? Qetsiyah isn’t going to show up for that. She wants me on the Other Side as much as you want me dead. You really should leave the planning to Kol from now on.”

“Bonnie!” She heard someone calling her name from outside the cave somewhere.

“Oh,” Silas smiled towards the entrance of the cave and when he turned back he no longer wore Lucy’s face but now Stefan’s. “If I can’t convince you then maybe Damon can. He wants me gone almost as much if not more than you do.”

“I’m not going to let you –“ she started to threatening him but started to find it difficult to breathe.

“You won’t let me what?” he mocked as she struggled to let air into her lungs. “Do you feel that?” he asked. “That’s the air around you thinning. Barely enough to breathe,” he chuckled as she feel to the ground, small wheezing sounds coming from her as she tried to breathe.

Then he walked away. Just like that and leaving Bonnie alone struggling to breathe.

Bonnie tried to get to her feet but instead managed to crawl over to one of the rocks and pull herself up slightly. She rested her head on it as she tried to focus on breathing. She knew that this had to be one of Silas’ mind tricks, she just needed to tell her body that so it could start breathing normally again.

But that was harder done than said.

When she felt a hand on her back and the soothing voice of her Grams break through her wheezing and the ringing in her ears from lack of oxygen, she threw her arm behind her thinking that Silas was back for seconds this time in the form of her grandmother.

“This isn’t real, Bonnie,” she told her. “This is a trick. You need to feel the air in your lungs. You need to break Silas’ hold.”

“Get away from me, Silas” she said weakly.

“Would Silas be trying to save your life?” she said and got down to Bonnie’s level, pushing some hair away from her face. “Now breathe.”

Bonnie fixed her gaze on her Grams’ face and focused on breathing in air and soon enough she started to calm down.

“Grams,” she whispered as she looked up at her beloved grandmother.

“It’s me,” she smiled at her granddaughter and helped her to her feet before pulling her into a warm and loving hug.

“I’ve been so worried about you, Grams,” Bonnie nearly cried into her grandmother’s shoulder. The last time she saw her Grams was when she switched Tyler and Klaus. She had no ideas what the Spirit’s had done to her but it had stopped Bonnie from using Spirit magic it had also pushed her into finding a new way to use magic which led her to Shane and Expression.

 “And I’ve been watching over you,” Grams said and held onto Bonnie tightly before the two pulled back slightly.

“I think I messed up,” Bonnie said. “I thought I could fix this but I can’t. I don’t know how.”

“I know how you can fix it,” Grams said. “You put Silas down and you put him in the deepest darkest hole, somewhere he will never be found.”

“But I don’t know how to do that Grams,” she replied, a little frustrated that she had all this power and didn’t know how to use it. “That’s why I lowered the veil. I needed to know how Qetsiyah did it.”

“You don’t need to ask her, Bonnie,” Grams told her. “You have Expression. It’s a manifestation of your will, there is very little that you can’t do with it. I don’t like it but sometimes we are left with no other choices.”

Silas turned to stone because Qetsiyah had him locked away for so long without any source of blood to keep him conscious. Bonnie could do the same but skip all the years that it took Silas’ body to turn to stone. She could do this.

She could put Silas down.

xxx

Regina gave Kol a bright smile when he handed her a glass of Klaus’ best bourbon.

“Oh, I’ve missed this stuff,” she sighed happily and took a drink, savouring the taste.

Kol took a seat on the coffee table across from Regina; barely able to keep his eyes off the only person he was able to call a true friend. “I can’t believe you’re here right now,” he said and placed his hands over her free one.

“There is nowhere else I’d rather be,” she replied and he squeezed her hand. “And I don’t exactly have anyone else to visit since my line was broken.”

A few years after the Amy incident, Regina had been killed, burnt at the stake, leaving behind a young daughter and a husband. As far as Kol was aware, her daughter never continued on their line.

She never got the chance to.

“I wish I could have been there to save you,” he told her and looked down at their hands. He could still vividly remember the day he received word from Elijah that Regina had been killed by the townspeople of her home. He had been on the other side of the country at that time.

“I know you would have had you been there but you weren’t,” she said and placed her glass down on the table before lifting his head up so their eyes could meet. “You can’t blame yourself, Kol. It had nothing to do with you. I was reckless with my magic and I got caught.”

“You could have saved yourself.”

“I could have,” she nodded. “But then I would have been putting my daughter’s life in danger. I’d rather die rumoured to be a witch than to have my daughter receive that same fate.”

“By the time I got there Gregory had left with her,” Kol said. “Got her out of that town and started over with her. I never managed to find out where.”

“Probably better that way,” Regina shrugged, a sad smile playing on her lips. “While her life was short, it was a happy one. Gregory made sure of that.”

“She never made it to the Other Side?”

Regina shook her head. “She died before she received her powers which in a way I am thankful for, the Other Side is no place for a child. She found peace and moved to the Afterlife.”

Every now and then Regina would pop back and see how her husband was fairing and it gave her joy to see that Gregory had moved on, started a new family. It was hard to see at first but Gregory had always been an amazing father, it would have been a shame for him not to father another child.

“Enough about me,” she said handed her empty glass back to Kol as a hint that she wanted more. “You have been my source for entertainment, at least when you didn’t have a dagger in your heart – you were a real bore.”

“So, there isn’t much for me to tell you then,” he smiled at her and handed her back a full glass.

“Oh, you’re not getting off that easy, my love,” she gave him a mischievous grin. “How about we start with my necklace?”

Kol started to rub the back of his neck and wasn’t quite able to reach Regina’s gaze. “You didn’t mind, did you?”

“I’ll admit I was cursing the hell out of you when you first gave it to her but that was because I knew what she was up to,” Regina told him. “Needless to say, I wasn’t exactly fond of her to begin with but she started to grow on me when she saved your life and admitted that she loved you then I cursed you out again when you left her.”

Kol chuckled and settled back into the plush couch. “I’m glad my life has been a great source of entertainment for you.”

“The best,” she said with a grin. “I think she’s good for you. She brings out a softer side of you.”

Kol scoffed. “Soft? I’m not soft.”

Regina arched a brow at him as if to say _come on_. “Well, you can’t be a monster all the time and with her you can be who you are rather than who you want people to think you are. And don’t ever forget that I saw you with my daughter,” she smiled widely. “Juliet was afraid of her own shadow and she adored you.”

“Kids love me, what can I say?”

“That’s because mentally you’re still twelve years old.”

“You have me confused with my brother,” he counted, referring to Klaus, the only one of his siblings that Regina hadn’t met, not that she ever complained about that.

Regina was about to reply but Kol’s phone began to vibrate in his pocket, interrupting their banter and Katherine’s name flashed on the cracked screen.

“A bit late, Katherine,” Kol said after he hit answer. “You were supposed to ring me _before_ Bonnie brought down the veil.”

“Well, you see that would have interfered with the deal she and I had made,” she replied. “I needed her to lower the veil and she has so now I’m calling. Think yourself lucky, I could have just skipped town without telling you where she was.”

Kol wanted to ask what Katherine got out of the veil being lowered but he knew she wouldn’t tell him and in the long run, he didn’t particularly care.

“You might have been able to out run Klaus for five hundred years but you won’t get far if I want you dead,” he said, his voice rough and threatening. “Where is she, Katherine?”

“She’s at the school,” she told him. “There are caves underneath it. You can get to them through the boiler room. She’ll probably still be there and if not then she probably won’t be too hard to track down,” she said then hung up.

Kol looked to Regina who nodded. “You go. I’ll stay and drink all of your brother’s liquor.”

Kol pocketed his phone and pointed to a locked cabinet. “He keeps all his good stuff in there.”

“Good to know.”

The Original stood then leant down to give his oldest friend a kiss to the forehead before leaving the mansion and heading towards Mystic Falls High School.

xxx

Bonnie returned back to the cave underneath the school and to her Grams -predictably, Katherine had split the moment Bonnie broke the spell that linked the two of them together- however her Grams wasn’t there which was kind of perfect for what Bonnie had planned to do. Something her Grams would surely try to talk her out of.

She began to rearrange the candles and made sure every one of them was lit and ready. She ignored the part of her mind that was screaming at her not to do this but over the years she had gotten pretty good at ignoring the more rational side of her. She had to. More than half of the things she did she knew she shouldn’t but she had to.

This felt like one of those things that she had to do. She had to fix this, for herself, for Jeremy and for Elena.

When Elena had lost Jeremy she lost herself too and now Bonnie finally had the power to fix this, what kind of friend would she be if she didn’t seize the opportunity?

It didn’t even hit her until she saw Elena with Jeremy out at the cemetery after she had turned Silas to stone –ridding them of one problem for the while- and saw the first real and happy smile on Elena’s face in a long while. And how happy Jeremy looked to be back, even if he knew it was only for a short time.

He shouldn’t have died in the first place. Bonnie still wasn’t quite sure what had happened down in Silas’ tomb, her memory still hadn’t come back to her but she did know that she was down there with Jeremy when he died.

How was she not able to save him?

How could she not feel like this was on her to fix it?

And it was defeating Silas to helped her realises that she could do it. It was her will to dry up every last drop of blood in Silas’ body to turn him into a piece of rock and now it was her will to give Jeremy back his life.

He shouldn’t have died on that island. It wasn’t the plan.

“Bonnie, don’t do this,” her Grams suddenly reappeared. “That boy or Elena is not your concern.”

Bonnie silently cursed at her grandmother’s timing but still continued to set up the candles. “I let him die, Grams.”

“No, you didn’t,” she said and got Bonnie’s attention by grabbing a hold of her arm. “You couldn’t have saved him, Bonnie. You were hurt. It was Katherine and Silas who killed him, not you. It’s not your responsibility to bring him back.”

Sheila had been watching over Bonnie that day and she had been glad that there was someone on that island that put her granddaughter’s life ahead of everyone else’s. She hated that that someone happened to be a vampire but as long as he continued to keep her life safe, then she would keep her opinions on his kind to herself.

But when Bonnie needed him with her the most, he was nowhere to be found.

“Grams, don’t try to stop me,” Bonnie said without another glance towards her grandmother and stood in the centre of the candles.

“Bonnie, please,” she pleaded with her granddaughter not to go through with this but the young Bennett was even more stubborn than her grandmother. “You know what this is going to do.”

Sheila couldn’t watch what was about to happen. She knew a spell like this needed a sacrificial balance and she knew Bonnie knew it too, she was just too stubborn to realise it. Bonnie was going to go through with this spell, she would die that would be it but Sheila wasn’t about to let that happen.

She needed a plan and there was only one other witch over on the Other Side that had the power to give Sheila what she wanted, the only problem would be finding her.

**XXX**


	35. Don't Let Me Go

Kol breathed a sigh of relief once he stepped inside the cavern and laid eyes on Bonnie. He was so relieved to see that she was okay that he barely noticed the older woman standing beside her looking as if she was comforting Bonnie.

“Thank God you’re okay,” he said and immediately wrapped her up in his arms but something felt different. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

“Kol,” she said his name softly as she pulled away from him.

He noticed the slight puffiness and redness of her eyes, like she had been crying. The shimmering dampness on her cheeks confirmed that she had been crying.

“What’s going on?” he asked and cupped her face, his thumbs brushing away the dampness. A feeling of dread began to swell in the pit of his stomach and he just knew that he wasn’t going to like the answer she was about to give him.

“Something went wrong,” she told him with a shaky voice. She looked to the woman standing next to her before looking over to the other side of the cave. She sniffled and fresh tears began to form in her eyes. “It was all too much for me to handle.”

Kol slowly followed her gaze and when he finally laid eyes on what she was referring to, it was like the ground began to fall out from under him, like his father’s sword going through his heart all over again.

“No,” he whispered, his eyes unable to leave Bonnie’s body lying lifeless just a few feet away from where he stood. A second later he was knelt down beside her body, one of his hands grabbing her still warm hand. He knew it would be useless but he bit into his wrist anyway and held it to her mouth.

Kol had never been one for praying but he found himself pleading with whatever higher power there was for it to work, for his blood to heal the damage that had been done to her body and for her to gasp awake but nothing happened.

“That’s not going to work,” Sheila spoke for the first time since Kol entered the cave. She gripped her granddaughter’s hand while she sobbed as she watched Kol try to bring her back to life.

Kol didn’t have to ask who she was. He’d seen all the photos of her around Bonnie’s house and in her room. It was her beloved Grams.

“What happened?” he demanded and stood up. His eyes were on Bonnie and whatever expression was on his face stopped her from moving towards him. “What did you do?”

Bonnie’s eyes were basically anywhere where she couldn’t see her own body lying on the ground or Kol’s face. She didn’t want to see how he looked when she told him how this happened. “I tried to bring Jeremy back to life,” she confessed to him, still not looking at him and instead her eyes firmly planted on her own feet. “I thought I had enough power to do it but it turns out I didn’t.”

She finally looked up and her eyes fell upon her own body. More tears began to from and she dug her fingernails into her palm to hold them back. It was still hard for her to process what had happened. It had been so quick and sudden that she didn’t even know what had happened until her Grams had shown her.

It was so quick, almost like falling asleep.

“Jeremy?” Kol’s pained voice pulled her attention to him. There wasn’t just pain in his voice but anger as well.

“I had to try and bring him back,” she said to him. “He was supposed to have come back with us and he was the only family that Elena had left.”

Bonnie did feel guilt over Jeremy’s death even though she knew it wasn’t her fault. And if she hadn’t had been so quick to trust Shane, she’d never have Expression and never would have known about the Cure or Silas.

She flinched when Kol let out a laugh. It was dark, sarcastic and bitter.

“So you finally did it, huh?” he was in front of her within a blink of an eye. “You finally managed to kill yourself for that ungrateful little bitch.”

“Kol,” Bonnie started but he cut her off.

“She tried to kill you, twice, not even a week ago and here you are sacrificing yourself for her happiness as soon as she apologises to you.”

Kol couldn’t believe that all it took was some half-assed apology and crocodile tears for Bonnie to go through with something like this.

“That wasn’t Elena,” Bonnie tried to defend her friend. It wasn’t Elena’s fault she did this, this was her own decision.

Kol rolled his eyes. “Yes, it was. That was Elena who tried to kill you on Prom night and it was Elena who was so obsessed with killing Katherine that she didn’t care that she could have killed you too.”

“Just stop trying to blame this on Elena,” Bonnie said and tried to touch his arm but he pulled it away from her. “This was my decision and I am to blame for the consequences. This is on me, Kol.”

Kol turned his attention to Sheila who was still standing next to Bonnie. “Why didn’t you try to stop her?”

“Believe me, I tried to,” she responded, her tone grim as she recalled kneeling down next to her granddaughter after she fell to the ground.

Bonnie let out a sigh as Kol turned away from her. “Kol, I’m sorry for what happened,” she said gently as she moved to stand behind him, her hand curling around his arm. When he refused to look at her, she stepped around him so he had to face him.

She was left completely stunning and speechless by what she saw.

Bonnie had seen Kol upset before but never had she seen him cry or even look like he was about to. He had always been so good at keeping his emotions hidden deep down, far away from the surface.

“I had no idea that it would turn out like this,” she said to him and her hand moved down his arm to take lace her fingers with his.

“You should have known that it wouldn’t have turned out good,” he replied and squeezed her hand.

He was afraid to let her go. He was afraid that she’d disappear forever and he’d never see her again. Kol didn’t know if he’d be able to handle that. Bonnie’s mortality was something that always played in the back of his mind. He knew that unless she would let him turn her that they wouldn’t last forever and when he was away from her for those months, she was all he could think about and he discovered just how much he truly loved and needed her in his life.

He could barely live without her then.

What would an eternity without her be like?

Was this his punishment for all his sins? His love and happiness ripped away from him so soon after he finally found it?

“I know you don’t want to hear this, but I just wanted Elena to be happy and Jeremy didn’t deserve what happened to him,” she said and Kol sighed, his free hand moving to brush her cheek.

“I always knew your love and compassion for your friends would be the death of you,” he told her and placed a gentle kiss to her forehead. “Is there any way to fix this?” he directed his question to both witches and wrapped his arms around Bonnie, holding her tight and close.

“I think you know the answer to that question,” Sheila answered him.

She was right, he already knew the answer and there wasn’t a way. There was nothing he could do to fix this, but like always, Kol was never one to take no for an answer. He’d find a way. He’d be damned if he was going to live the rest of his immortal life without her.

“There has to be a way,” he pushed, refusing to let it go.

He didn’t care what he had to do or who he had to sacrifice, if there was a way to bring Bonnie back to life and back to him, he was going to do it. “I refuse to let you go,” he whispered and buried his head in Bonnie’s hair.

He found that one of his favourite scents –her milk and honey shampoo- was no longer traceable.

“I don’t want to let you go but we don’t have any other solution,” she said into his chest. “I’ve discovered that trying to bring people back from the dead never ends well,” she tried to make a joke but none of them found it funny.

“I don’t care what anyone has to go through as long as it brings you back,” he replied seriously.

Bonnie let out a sigh and pulled back from Kol but he didn’t let her pull too far away from him. He needed her close.

“I don’t want to come back at someone else’s expense,” she said.

Bonnie didn’t want to be dead, she didn’t want to be stuck on the Other Side for the rest of eternity but she wouldn’t accept someone hurting themselves to bring her back.

Kol let out a chuckle. “You are in this situation because you wanted to help someone but you don’t want anyone to offer you the same.”

“I don’t want anyone to die, Kol,” she said. “This is my mess and I have to pay for it. I should have known but I refused.”

Kol didn’t accept that. He wouldn’t accept anything short of her standing alive in front of him. He put his hands on her shoulders and looked her straight in the eye. “I don’t care who has to die so long as you are back in my arms.”

At this point in Kol’s life there were only two people in Kol’s life he would risk everything for, Bonnie and Elijah.

The reappearance of the cure and his sister’s desire for it at the expense of everything else put strain on their relationship while he had been on the outs with Niklaus for a while now. Besides, Nik would sell Kol out in a second if it meant getting whatever he wanted and the rest of his family were dead so Bonnie and Elijah was all he had left and he’d be damned if he let anything happen to either of them.

XXX

The three of them stayed down in the cave for a while longer before Sheila suggested that Bonnie goes home to her father. Kol immediately began to object but one look from the older woman made him shut his mouth.

Bonnie wanted to keep her death quiet, at least until after Graduation the next day and as much as Kol was against that, he would comply with her wishes. Grams also thought that it would be for the best, at least for a little while until they figured out what they were going to do.

Kol wanted to walk Bonnie home but she insisted that she spend some time alone with her dad. Kol promised to come by sometime before she left for the school tomorrow and they parted with a quick but deep and loving kiss.

Sheila waited a few minutes after Bonnie had left before she started talking.

“There is a way you can bring her back,” she said to him. “It won’t be easy but it’ll bring her back.”

“And you’re now just mentioning this?” Kol questioned.

“She won’t allow anyone to get hurt to bring her back and this may very well end in with someone getting hurt so it’s best she not know at all,” Sheila answered him. “As soon as I realised what she was doing and how it would end, I started asking around the Other Side, looking for a way, any way that would bring her back to life,” she started explaining and walked over to her granddaughter’s body. “This shouldn’t have to be her fate and I refuse to let this be the end for her.”

“Did you find a way?”

She nodded her head but her face showed no emotion. “She found me. Gave me an offer and if you’re willing to take it, she promises to give Bonnie back her life.”

He didn’t even have to think about it, he was already prepared to do whatever it took but of course he was curious to what he had to do. “What is it?”

Sheila turned back around looked him dead in the eyes, “Kill Silas.”

“Please tell me there is more information to be given.”

Silas was virtually un-killable without the cure and while he had no problem with attempting to kill Silas, a fight with an un-killable monster seemed kind of one sided and Kol was no moron. He wasn’t going to walk into a fight he knew he had no chance of winning, especially with stakes so high.

“You will need the cure,” she confirmed what he already knew. “She’s looking for it know and when she finds out where it is, she’ll let me know and I’ll tell you but until then,” she reached into her pocket of her cardigan and pulled out a necklace that looked vaguely familiar and handed it out to him. “Keep this on you at all times. It’s been spelled to shield your mind against Silas so he won’t see you coming.”

He reached out and took the necklace that looked to be made from human bone and put it in his jacket pocket. “So what do I do until I know where the cure is?”

“Prepare,” she said. “Silas may not have superhuman strength, but as soon as you use that cure against him he will have his magic abilities back, he will use them to get the upper hand and believe me he is strong enough to kill you.”

“So, a witch on the Other Side is prepared to help if I kill Silas…let me guess, Qetsiyah?”

Sheila nodded her head.

“Do you trust her?”

“I don’t trust anyone,” she replied.

“Smart.”

“If you succeed and Qetsiyah keeps her word and brings Bonnie back, promise me that you will take care of her. Get her away from all this. She deserves to live a life and that’s all I want for her. I never would have let her into all this if I had known this was her future.”

Kol nodded. “You have my word. I’ll take care of her.”

He’d get her out of this town as soon as possible.

“I know you will,” Sheila said with a tight smile. “Now, you should go to her. She’ll need you.”

XXX

Bonnie crawled into bed after taking a long and much needed shower but even that didn’t wash away the feeling of death that she felt overwhelmed with. As soon as her head hit the pillow she wanted to cry her eyes out but couldn’t. She couldn’t even close her eyes without seeing her own dead body lying before her.

How the hell was she going to explain this to everyone, to her father?

And to make it worse, she failed. She died and had nothing to show for it. The spell didn’t work, it didn’t bring Jeremy back. What was the whole point? Now she had no one. Now she was going to die and leave behind everyone she loved for a life of isolation on the Other Side.

Needless to say, sleep never came that night and neither did Kol.

XXX

Her father had to leave early the next morning to get to the school for Graduation preparations and before Bonnie even had a chance to get out of bed; Lucy was letting herself into her room with a black dress bag folded over one arm and a take-out bag from the Grill in the other hand.

“The perfect dress and the perfect breakfast,” Lucy smiled at her cousin and hung the bag up on the door and settled herself on Bonnie’s bed with the food.

“You got me a dress?” Bonnie asked and sat herself up while Lucy started taking food out of the bag.

Lucy shrugged. “I walked passed it yesterday when I was in town and thought it’d look amazing on you and since today is your Graduation, you need to look extra beautiful.”

“You didn’t have to do all this,” Bonnie said but was still insanely grateful.

“I wanted to,” Lucy smiled at her and handed Bonnie her favourite bacon, egg and cheese burger from the Grill. “I also got your Graduation gown and cap from Caroline this morning so you don’t have to worry about those either.”

“Are you excited for today?” she asked and pulled more food out of the bag. “I remember I was more excited for the after party than the actual graduation.”

Bonnie shrugged and picked at her food, not having much of an appetite. She wasn’t excited for graduation and after everything it seemed more pointless than something to be excited about. What good is graduating if she wasn’t even going to be around to make anything of it?

She’d love nothing more than to stay in bed all day but she knew both Lucy and Caroline would drag her to school by her feet if they had to.

 She spent the rest of the morning with her cousin who could tell that there was something wrong but she thankfully didn’t question it but after a while, Bonnie started to put on a front for her cousin, feeling horrible that Lucy was trying to make this a good day for her.

Eventually she even fooled herself into having a good time.

XXX

“I don’t think we should wait around for this Qetsa or whatever the hell her name is before we do anything,” Regina said after an hour of watching Kol pace around the room. “Who knows how long it’ll even take her to find the damned thing. By then it might be too late to do anything with it.”

“Qetsiyah,” Kol corrected her and kept pacing. He was close to pulling his hair out if he didn’t hear anything soon. He couldn’t stand waiting around while Bonnie’s life was on the line. “Where would we even start?”

“We start with the obvious,” Regina stood up and grabbed his arm to stop him pacing. “Who had the cure last?”

Kol stopped and thought. The cure was beginning to change hands so many times it was getting hard to keep track. He didn’t think anyone got it from Silas after he took it from Elijah but Bonnie did turn him to stone last night, someone could have grabbed it. “Anyone could have it now,” he answered and slumped down onto the couch and put his head in his hands.

Regina rolled her eyes then kicked him in the shin causing him to snap his head up to look at her with a questioning glare. “Think, you idiot.” She was one step away from slapping him across the head. “You know these people more than you’d care to admit so use that and figure out who has it.”

Kol ran a hand through his messed up hair before he gave an annoyed growl. He may not know how currently had the cure but he knew who would end up with it. “Fucking Elena Gilbert.”

“See, you’re not a total idiot,” Regina grinned and patted his shoulder. “So we know this ‘Fucking Elena Gilbert’ will eventually have the cure so now the question is where will she be when she gets it?”

“I’ll just keep an eye on her until I know she has it. At least Silas will be out of the picture for a while.” Kol said but Regina frowned. “What?” he asked her.

The witch sighed and repositioned herself on the couch to face him. “First of all –and I thought you would have realised this by now but Bonnie’s spell on Silas would have broken when she died, a spell that big would is tied to her life force so when she died it would have broken and second of all, what if you can’t beat Silas?” she asked him. “And if you don’t then you’re not going to get her back so do you really want to spend what is potentially her last day here snooping around a girl you clearly despise?”

“I’m going to kill Silas,” he said with a fierce determination. “I’m going to kill him, Qetsiyah is going to bring Bonnie back then I’m going to get her out of this death trap of a town.”

Kol refused to acknowledge the very real possibility that he could fail. He couldn’t afford to think like that, not with what was at stake.

“I know you will,” Regina smiled but Kol could see the doubt in her eyes. “I just think you should go see her. She’s probably terrified and no one but you and her grandmother knows she’s dead. She’d want you around.”

Kol shook his head. As much as he wanted to go to her he knew that he wouldn’t leave her side if he did. Thankfully it was her graduation today which meant she’d be surrounded by her family and friends so she wouldn’t be alone.

“I have some friends on the Other Side, I can contact some of them and they can help us look for it,” Regina suggested. “Trust worthy friends,” she added for good measure, knowing that Kol wouldn’t just let anyone help with this.

“The less people know the better. Just leave it between the two of us.”

XXX

Bonnie’s cheeks were beginning to hurt from all the fake smiling and her arms tired from all the clapping she had been doing but neither hurt as much as hearing her father tell her how proud he was of her, how happy her friends looked and how miserable she felt on a day she was meant to be bursting with joy.

No one even noticed her get up from her seat and slip away from the celebration, at least she hoped that nobody had noticed but Lucy had. Bonnie didn’t see her cousin frown and walk away from all the other happy family members here to see their kids and family graduate and follow her into the empty school.

Bonnie walked past a few blocks of lockers and empty classrooms, ripping that stupid cap of her head and all but threw it on the ground.

“What’s going on?” she heard Lucy ask when she caught up to her.

Bonnie slowly turned around, yet another fake smile plastered on her face. “Nothing. All that cheering was giving me a headache.”

Not entirely a lie. Her head was thumping but she didn’t think it was from all the noise outside.

“And that’s why you look like you’re about to break down?”

Bonnie shrugged. “It’s a really bad one,” she lied lamely and Lucy arched a brow at her cousin.

“What’s really going on? And does it have anything to do with why Kol is nowhere to be seen?” she questioned and picked Bonnie’s graduation cap up off the floor but didn’t give it back to her. “Yeah, I noticed he wasn’t here so you want to tell me why that is? Did you two have another fight?”

Bonnie sighed and shook her head. “Not exactly,” she said and rubbed her sweaty hands down the front of her dress.

She hadn’t seen Kol since the cave last night when she told him she died and it pissed her off more than upset her. She got that he was angry with what happened but he also knew she would have to put the veil back up tonight and he was ignoring her.

She needed him more than ever right now and he was nowhere to be found.

“This is clearly more than some dispute you two might or might not have had,” Lucy tried to press the issue, wanting Bonnie to open up to her. “So start talking.”

Again, Bonnie shook her head but Lucy didn’t accept that as an answer and the look she wore told Bonnie that. “Just don’t worry about it,” Bonnie muttered bitterly and moved to walk passed Lucy but her cousin stopped her by grabbing her arm.

“What the hell is going on with you? This is your graduation; you should be happy right now.”

“It doesn’t matter,” she tried to shake her cousin off. “Not anymore at least.”

“Of course it does,” Lucy argued and tried to turn Bonnie around to face her. “Whatever’s wrong, you can tell me.”

“Just leave me alone,” she pleaded with her cousin and pulled her arm from Lucy’s hand.

“Not until you tell me what the hell is going on with you.”

“I’m dead!” Bonnie spun around and shouted. “I died last night and when I put the veil back up I’m going to disappear so I’m sorry that I can’t bring myself to enjoy graduation.”

Lucy’s face fell and Bonnie immediately regretted what she said but it was too late to take it back.

“So, that’s the problem, I’m dead and it kind of sucks,” she said again, this time much quieter.

“Dead?” Lucy’s voice was barely above a whisper.  “What the hell happened? Was it when you dropped the veil?”

Bonnie let out a deep breath but shook her head. “It’s a long story and one I’d rather not get into right now.”

“And one better left for later on,” a new voice joined them. “We’re running out of time.”

Bonnie saw Lucy’s eyes widen when she looked over her shoulder and spotted Grams standing there.

“The veil needs to go back up tonight, Bonnie,” Grams said to her with a deep frown. “Otherwise we risk too much damage being done.” She then turned her attention to Lucy, her frown turning into a loving smile. “Lucy,” she held her hands out towards her other grandchild.  “Look at you,” she smiled and held Lucy’s hands. “You’ve grown so much since the last time I saw you.”

Bonnie wondered how long that had been. She never knew much of her mother’s side of the family except for the relatives who lived hundreds of years ago, one in particular who seemed to enjoy screwing her over. She never even met her aunt, Lucy’s mother. She regretted never getting to know the other living members of the Bennett family.

Watching Lucy and Grams reunite made her feel warm, filled her with a sense of joy –even just a tiny amount. The first time she felt herself give a genuine smile and as much as she didn’t want to she had to break them apart to move them back down to the cave. The last thing they needed was someone seeing Grams and questions being asked.

“We should go back down,” she said to her cousin and grandmother.

“Then you can explain what exactly happened,” Lucy said from behind her as the two of them followed Bonnie towards the boiler room. “Because I’m not letting this go or waiting for an explanation that I may never get because I know that’s what you’ll do.”

“And one you’re probably not going to like,” Bonnie mumbled under her breath.

“Of course I’m not going to like any explanation you give me because you’re dead,” Lucy snapped at her.

Bonnie bit her tongue until the three of them reached the torch lit cavern. “When do I put the veil back up?” she asked her Grams and shed her red graduation gown.

“When the moon is at its highest,” Grams answered and picked up the red gown Bonnie dropped and folded it properly making Bonnie roll her eyes.

“Start talking, cous,” Lucy said and crossed her arms. “We got the time. The moon isn’t going to rise for a while.”

Bonnie looked to Grams who nodded. “I tried to bring Jeremy back to life and it overwhelmed me,” she confessed.

Lucy stared at Bonnie like she grew a second head then faced Grams. “And you didn’t try to stop her?”

“You know what your cousin is like,” Grams shrugged. “She’s as stubborn as her mother.”

“Yeah but I never knew she was an idiot, too,” Lucy shot.

“Hey!” Bonnie glared at her cousin.

“How many times do you need to be told that trying to bring the dead back to life is never a good idea?” Lucy questioned her. She was so angry and frustration with her cousin that she couldn’t even comprehend that her cousin was actually dead.

“Well I’ve gotten the message now,” Bonnie shot back. “Happy?”

“Of course I’m not happy! You’re fucking dead!”

“I know that!”

“Girls,” Sheila attempted to intervene, not liking seeing her grandchildren at each other’s throats like this. “I think we are all aware of the seriousness of the situation and yelling at each other isn’t going to solve this.”

Lucy turned away from her two relatives and ran her hand through her hair before she turned back to face Bonnie. “How could you do this? How could you risk everything you had for this? Working against Silas and bringing down the veil is one thing but to take that extra step and try to bring someone back from the dead is something else.”

Bonnie closed her eyes and sat down on one of the rocks, putting her head in her hands. “It was a stupid lapse of judgement, okay? I know I screwed up, believe me I know it.”

She didn’t know where she stood anymore. She just felt like she owed it to Elena to give her her brother back but now Jeremy’s going to stay dead and she’s going to join him on the Other Side. No one wins.

“So we have until the moon is at its fullest to find a way to fix this?” Lucy said and sat on the rock next to her cousin.

“There is no way,” Bonnie said quietly and lifted her head from her hands. “I have to put the veil back up tonight so until then I guess I just make the most of it.”

XXX

“I told you I wanted to keep this between us,” Kol growled as he and Regina entered the Mystic Falls cemetery just before sun down.

“I know and I’m sorry but you needed help and I got it. She’s going to meet us here. All I told her was that I was looking for the cure to use on Silas and she was happy to help.”

Kol muttered something incoherent under his breath and Regina rolled her eyes at him.

“Still so stubborn,” she shook her head at him with a hint of her smile playing on her face. “But you can thank me when you’ve shoved it down Silas’s throat and have Bonnie back in your arms, alive and well, ah, here she is,” Regina grinned when she caught sight of the tall blonde heading their way. “Lexi,” she greeted the ghostly vampire with a hug then introduced her to Kol when they pulled away.

“Original vamp, yeah I know who you are,” she said and turned back to Regina.

“Lexi is a good friend of Stefan’s,” Regina told Kol. “And since we knew the cure would pass through there at some point, I figured that Lexi could keep an eye out for it for us.”

“Do you have it?” Kol asked the blonde.

Lexi shook her head. “Nope but you were right. Damon got it after Alaric took it from Silas and gave it to Stefan who then gave it to Elena.”

Regina shot Kol a victorious grin.

“And I’m happy to tell you where Elena is heading so long as you promise not to kill her,” she looked at Kol with a serious expression. “Stefan is my best friend and I’m not going to let the woman he loves die.”

“I’m not going to let the woman I love die either,” Kol said. “Elena’s her best friend; I’m not going to kill her.”

The thought may pass through his mind more than he’d care to admit, but he’d never go through with it so long as Bonnie considers her to be her best friend.

Lexi nodded. “Then she’s heading to the high school. Jeremy went to say goodbye to Bonnie and Elena is meeting them there. Neither knows that Bonnie’s dead.”

Kol nearly flinched at the mention of Jeremy. He was partly the reason Bonnie was dead. He wished he could kill both Gilberts and have them stay dead.

“If you’re such a good friend to Stefan then why are you helping us?”

“Because the cure and Silas is bigger than all of us,” Lexi answered. “And Silas needs to die more than Elena needs to be human.”

Regina looked to Kol. “Go get the cure. I’ll track down Silas for you.”

Kol gave a nod of thanks to Lexi then sped off towards the high school to get to Elena before she got to Bonnie.

“I guess I’ll be seeing you back on the Other Side,” Lexi grinned. “You know, I never thought I’d enjoy the company of a witch so much.”

Regina let out a chuckle. “Well, when you’re limited to who you can be around you tend to lower your standards.”

“So he’s going to kill Silas?” Lexi asked and Regina nodded. “All on his own?”

“He won’t be on his own. As much as he likes to think he can do this by himself he can’t and that’s why I need to go talk to someone. He’s going to need help, more help than I can offer him.”

The kind of help Kol would be furious at her for getting.

XXX

It didn’t take long for Kol to arrive at the school. He stood in the middle of the hall and focused on his hearing, trying to pin down Elena’s location but it was the sound of clashing metal that caught his attention. Sounded almost like a locker door being ripped from its hinges.

Kol ran towards where the sounds were coming from and saw not only Elena but Katherine, too, the two of them going at in the hall. It was the outfits that helped him tell the two apart. Elena was on the floor with Katherine standing over her. He couldn’t be bothered listening to the words that they shared but he quickly sprang into action when Elena kicked Katherine to the ground and pulled something out of her pocket and move towards Katherine with it.

He was next to the brawling doppelgangers within a second. His hands went to either side of Elena’s face and snapped her neck to the side and removed the cure from her hands before she fell to the ground then he turned and looked down at Katherine.

“I would say thank you but I know you didn’t save me out of the kindness of your heart,” Katherine panted slightly as she got to her feet. She let out a puff of air and stood over Elena’s body. “I can repay the favour, you know,” she smirked and her foot hovered over Elena’s neck. “Wait until she wakes up…” she trailed off and looked at Kol.

He pulled her away from Elena. “You don’t touch her,” he told her. “The only thing you are doing is leaving town.”

“What about our deal?” she questioned and folded her arms.

“There’s no way I can get your freedom from Klaus. The only thing you can do is stay off his radar and according to Elijah he has his hands full in New Orleans so I suggest you steer clear of him.”

Katherine seemed to contemplate what he said then a glare appeared on her face. “You didn’t exactly uphold your end of the deal, Katherine,” he said and took a menacing step towards her. “You were supposed to call me before Bonnie lowered the veil. You’re lucky that I’m not ripping you apart right now.”

Her eyes narrowed but she was gone the next second.

Kol pocketed the cure then dragged Elena’s body into the nearest empty classroom and away from anyone who came through the school at this hour.

Kol met Regina back at the cemetery after he left the school with the cure.

“Get it?” she asked him and he nodded, patting his pocket. “Good. Now, we find Silas.”

“Great, so any idea where he is?” he questioned.

Kol didn’t even know where to start looking for Silas. He seemed to be the kind of guy that found you rather than you finding him.

“I might have an idea,” she told him. While Kol was gone, Regina found who she was looking for and she had managed to track down Silas. “I’ve narrowed it down to somewhere by the quarry.”

“Now, you got the necklace?” When he nodded, Regina pulled out a blade and held it out for Kol to take. “Take this and stab that immortal bastard through the heart.”

Kol’s brow furrowed. “You’re not coming?”

“Of course I am, you idiot but you’re quicker than I am so go. Don’t waste any more time, she’ll have to put the veil back up soon.”

Regina watched Kol leave and chewed the inside of her cheek when _she_ came to stand next to her.

“You owe this to him,” she said this to her. “If you have so much as an ounce of kindness left in your cold, dead heart then you will help him with this.”

“If he needs me, then I will go to him but if not then I see no reason to show myself to him.”

XXX

The higher the moon rose the more nervous Bonnie became. She couldn’t even bring herself to leave the school and say goodbye to her friends and father. She had even tried calling Kol a number of times, all of which sent her straight to voice mail.

Then there was Lucy pacing the cavern trying to figure out a way to keep her here, even going as far to suggest not putting the veil back up but even she knew that could never be an option.

Grams had been suspiciously quiet most of the day - aside from talking with Lucy and catching up, she hadn’t said much, not to Bonnie at least. Bonnie knew her grandmother was pissed off with her for doing something so stupid, hell, she was pissed with herself for doing it and it just made her feel worse wishing that she didn’t even attempt the spell in the first place.

She was stupid for even thinking she could pull something like that off, that damned power had gone to her head like her grandmother and father feared it would. Even the last time she brought Jeremy back, it wasn’t even her doing. She begged the ghosts of the witches to do it and that had come at a price that ended up destroying her relationship with Jeremy in the form of a ghostly ex-girlfriend plus she lost the power they gave her.

Bonnie tried his number again but still no answer. She tried to convince herself that he wasn’t ignoring her and instead broke his phone. It wasn’t that much of a stretch to believe considering how many cell phones he’d gone through in such a short period of time. He didn’t quite understand that they weren’t meant to be thrown at the wall or crushed.

She heard footsteps approaching, heavy ones that she knew immediately didn’t belong to her grandmother or cousin. She stood and eyed the entrance but the bubble of hope she had burst when Jeremy walked through. It wasn’t that she was disappointed to see Jeremy, it was just she’d rather see Kol instead.

“Hey, Jer,” she smiled half-heartedly.

“Hey,” he smiled back. “Everyone’s been wondering where you’ve been,” he told her. “I figured you’d be here.”

Bonnie hadn’t spoken to Elena or Caroline since before Graduation earlier that day, they hadn’t even tried to call her since she disappeared half way through the ceremony so obviously they weren’t too worried which was what Bonnie wanted.

Grams told her to say her goodbyes but Bonnie didn’t exactly know how to say goodbye to her best friends since childhood. She knew she’d regret it later on but right now Bonnie just wanted to disappear quietly.

“You figured right,” she replied and sat back down. “Got to put this veil back up soon,” she said softly, giving him an apologetic look. “You should go spend time with Elena.”

“I spent all last night and today with her,” he said, “We’ve already said our goodbyes.” Bonnie watched him move closer to her before he sat down next to her on the rock. “And I never got to say goodbye to you last time so I wanted to make sure I got the chance this time.”

Bonnie smiled sadly, wishing that her spell last night worked. At least that way she wouldn’t be dying for nothing. Her best friend would’ve gotten her brother back and would’ve been happy. But now neither of them was going to be around for much longer.

She looked down at the phone in her hands, willing it to ring and to see Kol’s name and face flash on the screen. She almost smiled thinking about when she managed to get a picture of him without him even knowing.

XXX

Kol’s hands were in his pockets when he arrived at the quarry, one hand clutched the necklace the other wrapped around the cure. He was paranoid that the moment he took his hand off of it it would disappear.

He spotted a shadowy figure at the edge of the quarry, looking over at the water below. He kept moving closer and closer to it, his heart beating louder and faster with each step. Kol couldn’t remember the last time he felt nervous and if he dared admit it, frightened.

Silas was the one person Kol had truly feared in his one thousand years of existence, not even Mikael frightened Kol as much as Silas did and now here he stood, a few feet away from him, ready to force feed him the cure and end him for good.

He just hoped that whatever spell was used to enchant the necklace would work like Sheila said it would. He could use any advantage he could get for this.

“Am I supposed to be unnerved that I can’t see into your mind?” Silas’ rough voice spoke out when Kol stopped just a few short steps away from the immortal.

“It should,” Kol said. “Without your physic abilities all you are is an immortal man.”

“And when you give me the cure, I’ll regain my powers,” Kol could hear the smirk in his voice.

“So then you’ll be a very killable mortal man with magic,” the Original countered with a smirk of his own. “I’ve killed my fair share of witches.”

“I take it Bonnie is the reason you’re here. I guess she’ll be joining her grandmother on the Other Side after tonight,” he said and slowly turned around. Kol wasn’t exactly sure what to expect but what he got was far from it. “Not what you were expecting, huh?”

“Now I get why you take on the appearance of others. If I had that face I wouldn’t want to show it either.”

“The first thing I do after I get my powers back and end you is undo the curse Qetsiyah put on me,” his voice was laced with anger and the hand Kol gripped the necklace with moved to take hold of the blade’s handle Regina gave him. Silas’ eyes flickered down to it then back up to the Original. “That’s not going to do much for you right now.”

“It’ll still hurt.”

“You know you can just give me the cure and I’ll take it right now. I’ve been waiting for two thousand years to take it.”

Kol wasn’t an idiot. He knew the moment he gave Silas any kind of head start he’d end up getting his ass kicked. His best bet was the hold him down, force feed him the cure then stab him in the heart.

“That’s not going to happen.”

The Original wasted no more time and grabbed for the Immortal. He threw Silas on the ground and held him down with one hand, the other pulling the cure out of his pocket but when he looked back at Silas, it wasn’t him looking back.

It was Bonnie.

“Kol, stop,” her voice begged him while her eyes stared up at him. “Please.”

It wasn’t Bonnie, he knew that but he didn’t know how she was appearing to him. The necklace was supposed to prevent Silas from getting inside his head and altering his perception. He felt around in his pocket for the necklace but it was empty. Silas must have grabbed it when Kol tackled him to the ground.

“Don’t try to trick me,” Kol growled out and wrapped his hand around Silas’ throat.

“If you want to kill me this way then I’ll make as difficult as possible,” Silas gave a devious smirked, it looking so out of place on Bonnie’s face.

“You’ll need to try harder,” Kol used his free hand to get the cure; he bit off the lid and poured the liquid into Silas’ mouth then covering it with his hand to make sure he swallowed it. He then removed his hand from around Silas’ throat and pulled the blade out of his waistband. He didn’t know how long it took for the cure to take effect but he figured he’d just stab Silas repeatedly until it did.

He believed it was a good sign when Bonnie’s form disappeared and Silas’ true one reappeared.

What he wasn’t expecting was the stake that went through his stomach. He let out a loud growl and twisted his neck to see who it was.

“I swear your aim is getting worse and worse,” he groaned and pulled the stake all the way through then chucked it towards the water. “Not a good time, Amy, I’m kind of busy here.”

“Perfect timing,” she laughed and pulled out another stake, this one just barely missing his heart. “As much as I want to kill you myself, I’d much rather watch Silas destroy you.” Amy pushed Kol off Silas, giving the former immortal time to adjust to the effects of the cure.

“You’re going to regret this, Amy,” Kol growled and his head whipped to the side when she landed a punch to his cheek.

“I doubt that. I think I’m going to enjoy it actually.”

“You always were an annoying little rat,” Kol spat out, almost smiling when he saw Regina approaching.

“An annoying little rat that you fell in lo-“

“Jesus H. Christ, bitch, how many more times do I have to kill you before you get the hint?” Regina stressed before sticking a sharp wooden branch through Amy’s heart and pushing her over the ledge and into the water below. “Kol, get up!” Regina yelled towards the Original as Silas started to rise.

Kol got up as he recovered from the wound left by the stake while Silas got to his feet. Amy’s failed distraction might have only lasted a few minutes, but it was only a few minutes that Silas needed to recompose himself as well as break whatever curse Qetsiyah placed on him.

Silas sent Kol a grin that could rival his own in wickedness before unleashing a magical assault upon the Original vampire. Kol fell to his knees, clutching his head and screaming in agony when searing pains seem to shatter his skull.

Regina began to chant a spell that would temporarily dilute Silas’ hold on Kol long enough for the Original to gain back control of the situation but unfortunately her powers were no match for that of a two thousand year old witch, it didn’t do much but it got her Silas’ attention.

With a wave of Silas’ hand, Kol heard a crack followed by what sounded like Regina’s body hitting the ground. Through the pain, Kol growled and grabbed Silas’ arm and gripped and twisted it until he felt the bone shatter in his hands. Silas stumbled backwards and the spell broke long enough for Kol to get back to his feet and threw Silas towards the trees then using his speed to appear in front of him and pin him to the tree.

“Now isn’t this way so much more fun,” Silas laughed maniacally.

“I’ll admit, it’ll be far more satisfying to kill you after I’ve given you the beating of a lifetime,” Kol replied and threw his fist against Silas’ face, relishing in the sickening crack of his cheekbone smashing under his fist.

Kol threw Silas back to the ground and landed a hard boot to the rib cage, then another until Silas rolled onto his back, coughing and laughing. Kol was satisfied to see the blood on his mouth. Hopefully he punctured something.

There was a part of the Original that was screaming at him to kill Silas while he had the upper hand, it would be easy but then there was the other part of him dying to make Silas suffer for all the shit he brought upon them. Unfortunately that was the part of him that would more than likely get him killed.

But what Kol didn’t see what Silas grab for one of the stakes that Amy had used on him earlier until Silas had shoved it through his gut and kicked him away and quickly reached for the other one. Kol pulled it out with an angered growl and threw it back at Silas who used his powers to deflect it.

“Your need to give me a beating of a lifetime is distracting you,” Silas mocked him, using magic to keep Kol pinned on the spot and no matter how much or how hard he struggled, he couldn’t move an inch. Silas came closer to him, holding the other stake in a tight grip. He raised the stake with his non injured hand, fully prepared to push it through his heart.

“That’s not going to kill me,” Kol gritted out, still struggling against the invisible restraints.

“I don’t plan on killing you,” Silas grinned. “I know why you’re doing this and who put you up to it and I think it’ll be more entertaining for me if you fail and your little witch remains dead.”

Kol let out an animalistic growl as Silas brought the stake down to his heart, obviously planning on stabbing him excruciatingly slow for maximum pain but before he could he was sent flying back, the stake going in the opposite direction.

Kol was confused and looked around for Regina but she still laid lifeless a few paces away. Silas let out a howl of pain and Kol heard the cracking of bones being broken.

“If you actually plan on killing him, do it now,” a voice said as a figure emerged from the trees – a voice that had Kol frozen on the spot, one he never imagined he’d hear again, one he never wanted to.

“Esther,” he said her name, shocked that she of all people had appeared.

“Do it now, son,” Esther called out to him, hand outstretched towards Silas keeping him immobilised with pain.

Enough was enough, Kol decided when he walked over towards Silas’ cowering form, twitching and arching off the ground in pain. He knelt down and forced Silas to look him in the eye as he violently pushed his hand into Silas’ chest, hand clutching around his heart and pulled it back out, Silas’ heart in his hand.

Kol dropped Silas’ heart next to his body and stood to his feet, turning around to look at his mother. “What are you doing here?” he questioned her, remaining in his place when she started walking towards him.

“Helping you fight for the only thing in your life worth fighting for,” she answered.

“Don’t ever forget that it was you and father who made the decision to turn us into what we are. It was never us. We never had a say and if we had we never would have agreed it to.”

At one point in their many lifetimes, they had all admitted that they wished they lived and died as humans instead of turning into what they were today.

“I have never forgotten,” she replied. “All I wanted was to right my wrong.”

“And kill us.”

“You were never a witch, Kol, you don’t understand what I did and what it caused for nature’s balance,” Esther attempted to reason with him. “You don’t understand what’s it like to be punished by the Spirits for wanting to save your own children.”

“Weak excuse mother, just admit that you hated us,” Kol spat out venomously.

“I never hated any of you,” she said and closed the distance between them. “I hate what you have become, I hate that I have lost my children because of my weakness and fear but never mistake any of that for me hating you, Kol.” Esther raised her hand to brush her son’s cheek. “But when I saw you with her, the lengths you will go to to keep her safe,” a soft smile graced her face. “It reminds me of who you used to be.”

“I don’t even remember who that is,” Kol admitted just as he heard Regina groan from behind him.

Esther smiled. “You may someday, my son,” she told him and placed a kiss to his cheek like she used to when he was younger. “Goodbye, Kol.” She gave him a final smile before retreating back to the woods, leaving him alone with a dead witch and Regina.

Kol helped Regina up who let out another groan and tried to stretch out her neck. “Ow, that hurt,” she whined and Kol chuckled. “Please tell me you got that bastard.” Kol looked over to where Silas lay with a hole in his chest and heart lying next to him.

“You contacted my mother?” he arched a brow at her and she gave him a sheepish look.

“Did she help?”

He nodded. “Surprisingly, yes.”

But for a moment he was wondering if she were there to kill him.

“Then you’re welcome,” she grinned up at him and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. “We should get back,” she mumbled into his shoulder. “Give your girl the good news.”

“One more thing,” Kol said as he pulled away from Regina and over to Silas’ body. He picked it up and let him drop into the water. He couldn’t exactly leave the body out and wasn’t going to waste time burying so dropping his ass in the lake would have to do.

The two of them took their time getting back to the high school, there was still an hour or so until Bonnie would have to lift the veil and Kol wasn’t exactly up to using his vampire speed right now after his smack down with Silas. He could definitely use some blood right about now but he would take care of that after he made sure Qetsiyah held up her end of the deal and Bonnie was alright.

“I still can’t believe you actually did it,” Regina said as they walked through the halls of the school.

Kol looked at her, eyes narrowed in offence. “You didn’t think I could beat him?”

“No! Well I don’t know. It’s just that you were always so fearful of him,” she replied. “But when you think about it, it makes it kind of poetic that you were the one to kill him.”

Kol let out a scoff and shook his head at his friend. “Is that why you had to involve my mother?”

“I involved your mother because I knew I’d be a fat load of a good against him like you saw with him snapping my neck and because I knew there’d be a good chance you wouldn’t kill him as soon as you got the chance,” she shot him a sideways glance, “I know you Kol, you like to play with your food and it’s a terrible habit.”

Kol laughed as they entered and boiler room and headed towards the cavern underneath the school but the smile on his lips and any kind of happiness and joy he felt died the moment he walked into the cave and saw Bonnie kissing Jeremy.

XXX

Grams and Lucy had gone off somewhere while Jeremy helped Bonnie prepare for the nearing spell. Grams wanted to give Bonnie a chance to say goodbye to Jeremy while Lucy was ready to protest about leaving those two alone. Lucy had been glaring at Jeremy since he arrived few hours ago. She blamed Jeremy for what happened and that annoyed Bonnie. It wasn’t his fault what she did.

It was her choice to do it.

“I wish you didn’t have to do the spell,” he said to her.

“I wish I didn’t have to either,” she replied with a sad smile.

She didn’t think she could wait much longer before she had to do the spell. She’d have to start it whether Lucy and Grams were here or not. Whether Kol was here or not and clearly he had no plans on coming.

“Wait!” Jeremy called just as Bonnie closed her eyes and walked over to where she was standing in the middle of the lit torches.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, almost alarmed by his sudden outburst.

“I can’t leave without doing this first.”

Bonnie found herself frozen with shock as Jeremy’s lips came down on hers but she didn’t push him away either even though she knew she should. It felt good, it felt comforting and familiar but it didn’t have the same spark as it did with Kol and the whole thing just made everything feel worse.

The one person she wanted with her, to have their arms around her and their lips on hers was nowhere to be found but that still didn’t make what was happening right, it just made it feel all the more wrong.

With her hands on Jeremy’s chest, she lightly pushed him back to put some space between them. “Jeremy,” she sighed. “You shouldn’t have done that,” she frowned.

Jeremy opened his mouth to say something but Bonnie heard a different voice.

“You really shouldn’t have,” she heard him growl out.

She was both shocked and relieved to see Kol standing there but she cringed at his timing and what he would have seen. She saw his fists clenched at his side and she could tell what was going through his mind and that wouldn’t end well for Jeremy.

“Kol,” Bonnie started but Kol just turned around and walked away.

Bonnie didn’t hesitate to follow after him, calling his name and trying to get him to stop or at the very least slow down so she could catch up to him. She figured since he wasn’t using his vampire speed that he wanted her to follow.

“Kol, wait,” she said when she was close enough to grab a hold on his arm. “Please,” she pleaded with him, finally getting him to stop in the middle of the dark and empty hallway but he didn’t turn around to look at her nor did he say anything, waiting for her to talk first but she didn’t know what to say that wouldn’t sound like a total cliché.

_It wasn’t what it looked like._

_I didn’t kiss him, he kissed me._

“I’m sorry,” she settled for and her hand slid down his arm to take his, her fingers going between his. “For everything,” she added when she realised it wasn’t just that kiss with Jeremy she was sorry for.

She was sorry for how their relationship began with lies and deceit on her part and Bonnie realised that the lies never truly ended. She was always hiding something from him. She hid her ‘alliance’ with Silas from him, hid what she was doing with Katherine from him and she didn’t think of him at all when she decided to try and bring Jeremy back to life last night.

“You should put the veil back up,” was all he said.

“You can’t leave, Kol,” it came out more like a plea.

He turned around to face her and Bonnie could see the anger in his eyes but most of all she saw the hurt and she hated it.

“If I go back in there I will kill him over and over again until that veil goes back up and I can no longer see him so believe me, Bonnie, you don’t want me here.”

“Did you forget that I died last night, Kol?” she questioned, almost annoyed, and let go of his hand. “When I put the veil back up it won’t be just Jeremy you will no longer see.”

“Yeah, all because of him,” he shot back. “All this is because of him, you chose him over me when you decided to bring him back.”

“I didn’t choose him over you, don’t be ridiculous. I had no idea it would end up like this,” she said and ran a hand through her hair in frustration. “I made a mistake, Kol, and believe me I’ve been regretting it all day but then again you have exactly been around today.”

Kol glared. “Are you going to turn this back on me?” Bonnie rolled her eyes. “Because today while you were spending quality time with your ex-boyfriend, I was trying to fix shit.”

“Kol,” Bonnie tried but he just shook his head at her and started to back away from her.

“Just go put the veil back up.”

Bonnie watched helplessly as Kol disappeared around the corner and out of sight.

“Give him some time to calm down,” someone said from behind her. Bonnie turned around and saw the woman who had been standing next to Kol earlier. “It’s almost impossible to get through to him when he’s in a mood like this.”

“I can’t leave him alone while he’s like this,” Bonnie said. “I need him to know that what that was with Jeremy meant nothing. It was nothing.”

A sad smile crossed her face. “I’m sure he already knows that and I’ll go calm him down but right now, your first priority needs to be putting that veil back up before someone else is hurt.”

_Too late for that,_ Bonnie thought to herself.

“Go to him after you put the veil back up, by that time he’ll be fine,” she assured her.

Bonnie felt her eyes well up and she swallowed the lump in her throat. “I’m not going to have that chance.”

“Don’t be so sure about that, Bonnie,” she said and her eyes sparkled in the dim light of the hallway. “Kol loves you and I’m not sure if you know just how much but when you put that veil back up you’ll realise.”

She didn’t even get to ask what she meant or even who she was before she was leaving in the same direction Kol left.

Bonnie reluctantly returned to the cavern, Jeremy, Grams and Lucy all turning to look at her when she walked in.

“You need to do the spell now, Bonnie,” her Grams stepped forward and said.

XXX

Kol slammed the mansion door shut behind him so hard the glass nearly shattered. He was livid, the beast inside of him raging, itching to kill something, preferably someone with the last name Gilbert. He knew that kiss was one sided, a parting gift from Jeremy and he knew that it probably caught Bonnie off guard and he knew she pushed him away but that still didn’t calm his anger.

He heard Elijah call him from the study. He was tempted to ignore his brother and continue to his room so he could linger in his fury in peaceful isolation but the tone of Elijah’s voice was one all too familiar that told Kol to get his ass to the study.

“What is it?” Kol grunted as he walked into the room, grabbing a bottle of whatever liquor was close enough to get a hold of and sunk down on one of the chairs.

“Our brother,” Elijah told him. “He needs our assistance in New Orleans.”

Kol let out a scoff and took a long pull from the bottle, it wasn’t blood but it would do for now. “I really do not have the patience for whatever shit our brother has gotten himself into.”

“Lucy told me what happened,” Elijah said, dropping the tone of authority and taking on one of more brotherly. “So I have to ask why you are here instead of with her. Surely the veil must be going back up soon.”

“She’ll be fine,” Kol said and took another drink, ignoring his brother’s disapproving stare.

“Care to elaborate?”

He took yet another large drink from the bottle. “Not particularly.”

“Then you can listen to what I have to say about our brother,” Elijah said rest his left ankle on his right knee. “What is happening in New Orleans does not just affect Niklaus, Kol, but our entire family.”

Kol rolled his eyes and swirled the liquor in the bottle. “You’ve told me all this already, Elijah. Klaus is pissed because Marcel’s taken over the French Quarter, Klaus’ favourite toy.”

“He’s losing his way, Kol,” Elijah said with a sigh, ever so surely growing more annoyed with his family’s stubbornness. “He needs us now, more than ever.”

“He lost his way a long time ago, Elijah, with or without us.”

“Then we will help him find it.”

Kol shook his head and put the top back on the bottle. “You can help him find it, Elijah, but I’ve already wasted too much time on our brother.”

Kol never understood why Elijah was always so quick to help their brother after all that Klaus had done to them. Elijah was always there and no matter what Klaus did he always would be there and it only made Kol hate Klaus all the more. Klaus knew Elijah would never give up on family and he took advantage of that.

He and Rebekah had given up on their brother but Elijah never would. He would always claim to see hope for their bastard brother.

“Will you be staying here then?” Elijah asked him.

Kol shook his head. “I can’t stay in this town any longer,” he said to his brother.

His decision to leave wasn’t completely about Bonnie or what had happened, he just needed to get out of this town. He’d take her with him if she’d agree; he did give his word to her grandmother that he’d get her out of this town.

“Return to the French Quarter with me,” Elijah said. “I give it a few months before Rebekah finally caves and returns as well.”

Kol leant back in the chair. “I’m not helping Klaus, Elijah and if I’m there that is exactly what’s going to happen. He’ll find a way to drag me into his bullshit.”

“These problems in the French Quarter don’t just concern, Niklaus, Kol, they concern us all,” he said.

“They concern us because he starts these problems and we have to deal with them or get a dagger in the heart.”

Elijah let out a sigh. “I need you there, Kol. You’ve always had an influence on our brother and if we are going to reclaim our home, he’s going to need you there.”

Kol arched a brow at his brother. “What’s really going on there, Elijah?”

“More than we know which is why we need to get there as soon as possible,” he said. “And if what you say about Bonnie is true, then New Orleans would be a great place for her.”

“You told me that Marcel has some type of hold on the witches that is stopping them from using their magic. Witches are enemy number one in the French Quarter and you want me to take Bonnie there?” Kol questioned. “And all that aside, you know Klaus would use her as some kind of weapon to gain the upper hand on Marcel.”

Kol gave his word that he’d keep Bonnie safe and New Orleans would be even worse than Mystic Falls. Here Bonnie was valuable asset to everyone, friends and enemies, without her they’d be screwed but in New Orleans, she’d just be another witch in a city full of them, a city also full of vampires hell bent on keeping those witches in line by any means necessary.

“Bonnie doesn’t react well to vampires telling her what to do and the French Quarter is run by them. I’m not going to take her there only to put her in danger.”

“But she’d have you,” Elijah said. “You’d destroy anyone who looked like a threat to her. I’m sure Rebekah would, too.”

Kol shook his head. “I can’t, Elijah. I lost her last night but I got an opportunity to do something about it. I’m not going to risk losing her again. I’d rather her be alive and safe and without me than with me and die.”

“Isn’t that her decision to make, brother?”

Kol let out a short laugh. “She’s not the best at making decisions, last night being a good example.”

She had never made a decision that benefitted her, only those around her.

“If you leave her she’ll stay here,” Elijah said. “Things will most likely go back to how they were before you.”

“Which is why I need for you to talk to Lucy, she’s the only one who will look out for her.”

“I suppose I will hear what happened from her since you clearly are not going to tell me.”

Kol rolled his eyes. “Bonnie’s grandmother made a deal with a scorned witch on the Other Side, I kill the witch’s former lover and she’ll bring Bonnie back.”

Elijah’s brow furrowed in confusion and Kol didn’t wait for the realisation to set in, he got up and left the room. Regina was waiting by the stairs when Kol walked out.

“You could have come in,” he told her and she followed him up the stairs.

“Thought I’d let you and your brother talk,” she said. “He’s always been good at calming you down.”

“He and I can talk whenever,” he turned to look at her with a smile. “Not every day I get to talk to you.”

“Thank God for that,” Regina smirked. “So you’re going to New Orleans?”

Kol nodded. “Apparently.”

“And you’re leaving behind the girl you killed your worst nightmare for?”

Kol sighed and walked into his room, Regina following.  “It’s not safe for her there.”

“It’s not about her being safe there, it’s about you being scared you’ll lose her again, for good.”

“Can we not talk about this?” Kol pleaded with his friend. He was about three seconds away from ripping out his hair out of annoyance, anxiety and anger.

He was worried that Qetsiyah would renege on her end of the deal and wouldn’t bring Bonnie back to life and if that was the case then he’d never see her again and he’d forever regret how he left things with her in the hallway of the school.

He heard Regina sigh. “Fine,” she agreed. “I suppose it would be nice not to argue or have to call you an idiot in the little time I have left with you. But you are an idiot.”

XXX

Before Bonnie started the spell, her Grams embraced her, her hand running over her hair like she used to. “I love you, Bonnie,” she said and kissed the side of her head. “You have no idea how proud of you I am and I know your mother would be, too.”

As soon as Grams pulled away and stepped back, Lucy had her arms around her but she said nothing. Bonnie learnt that Lucy wasn’t the most emotional person in the world, she preferred action to words and that’s one of the things Bonnie loved most about her.

“I’m going to miss you,” Bonnie said softly, loud enough for only Lucy to hear.

“Don’t be so sure,” Lucy said back and when they parted she gave her a wink.

Bonnie turned to Jeremy and gave him a small smile. She wasn’t mad at him for what he did and it’s not like he knew Kol would chose that exact moment to show his face.

“I’m sorry,” she apologised and accepted the hug he offered her.

He gave a soft laugh, the one she used to love hearing so much. “You have nothing to be sorry about. I’m the one who should be apologising; I didn’t want to mess things up between you and him.”

She wanted to tell him that things were already messy before Jeremy kissed her but didn’t. It wasn’t Jeremy’s fault she died and she knew he’d carry the guilt if she told him and she didn’t want that.

Bonnie moved over to the circle then looked up at the three people standing before her and smiled, trying not to cry. She’d get to see her Grams on the Other Side and Jeremy, too. She’d get to watch over those who she’d leave behind.

She closed her eyes and focused. Putting the veil back up was a slow process, slower than lowering it. It would start from the edges of the Expression triangle and make its way to them in the centre. She, Jeremy and Grams would be the last to go.

Bonnie kept her eyes close the entire time, she could almost feel the veil going back up but what she didn’t expect was the sharp pain that shot through her when the spell was nearing its end. It was sudden and was over quickly but it felt like something ripped through her and from the sound that came from Jeremy, he felt it, too.

“What the hell just happened?” Jeremy questioned wide-eyed.

Bonnie had a hand on her stomach and turned to look at her grandmother but could no longer see her. She could only see Lucy standing there. She looked back to Jeremy.

 “She did it,” Lucy said softly, brining Bonnie’s attention to her. “She actually came through with it.”

“Who?” Bonnie questioned and that’s when she realised that her cousin could still see her but neither could see their Grams. “What’s going on?”

Lucy smiled happily through her tears. “You’re still here,” she said closed the distance between them and threw her arms around her. “You’re alive.”

Bonnie felt like the wind got knocked out of her but not from Lucy’s tight yet warm and comforting embrace. “I’m alive,” she whispered in shock. “How?”

“You died?” Jeremy questioned with shock. “When? How?”

“Last night,” she answered. “After I left you and Elena, I came back here.”

“And you can see and hear me,” he said slowly, realisation slowly sinking in.

“You’re back, Jer,” she said with a smile and walked over to him. “I thought it didn’t work but it did.”

“You brought me back,” he said it as if he were still trying to convince himself that it was really happening but then a pained look crossed his face. “You died bringing me back.”

“Don’t feel bad, kid,” Lucy spoke up. “She’s not dead, you’re both here and alive.”

“You should go see Elena,” Bonnie said, her smile still intact. It was quite possibly the longest she’d smiled all day. “She’s going to be thrilled to have you back.”

“You should come,” Jeremy said. “You’re the reason I’m back, you should be there.”

Bonnie shook her head. “There’s somewhere else I have to be.” All she wanted to do was get to Kol.

Jeremy nodded knowingly and gave her another hug. “Thank you, Bonnie.”

Lucy waited until Jeremy was gone before she whacked Bonnie with the back of her hand.

“Ow!” Bonnie gaped and grabbed her now sore arm. “What was that for?”

“I swear to God you ever do something so stupid like that again, I’m going to kill you myself, got it?” Bonnie nodded. “Good, now give me another hug.”

Bonnie stifled a laugh and held her arms out.

“Are you going to tell me how you managed this?” Bonnie questioned her cousin as they left the school, Bonnie very happy to leave that place behind after what had happened in the last twenty four hours.

 “I didn’t do a thing other than keep it a secret when Grams told me,” she answered. “Grams got into contact with Qetsiyah over on the Other Side,” she said and watched Bonnie’s eyes go wide. “She struck a deal with her. Kill Silas and you get brought back to life.”

“That bitch,” Bonnie cursed her ancestor. “I tried contacting her for the same thing and she didn’t show her face.”

They stopped by their cars, Bonnie not quite ready to get in even though there was someone she really wanted to go see.

“Did Grams kill Silas?” Bonnie asked and her brow arched in question. “I could definitely see her taking him down.”

Lucy laughed. “No, she didn’t,” a sly smirk then appeared on Lucy’s face. “Kol did.” Bonnie froze but Lucy continued. “When Grams sent you home last night she told Kol that Qetsiyah would bring you back if Silas was dead and he was the only one Grams trusted to get it done no matter the cost and he did. He killed Silas and Qetsiyah surprisingly upheld her end of the deal.”

She felt an ache in her chest. Kol had risked everything for her and killed the only being that had ever truly struck fear in him and what should have been their reunion was him seeing her in the arms of another guy.

“You should go,” Lucy told her. “He’s probably freaking out wondering if Qetsiyah kept her word or not.”

She didn’t need to be told twice.

XXX

Bonnie walked straight into the mansion just as Elijah was walking into the foyer, the oldest Original pointing towards the stairs, indicating that Kol was in his room. She gave him a small but thankful smile and all but ran up the steps (she had taken off her heels in the car) and followed the hallway until she reached Kol’s room, pushing the door open and walking in.

Kol was seated on the edge of his bed, head in his hands and looked up when she came in. She could almost cry at the look that crossed his face when he saw her, the pure, absolute relief she saw. A second later, he was on his feet and in front of her. Her legs wrapped around his waist as he hoisted her up off the ground and into his arms.

Neither said a word as their lips connected in a kiss so passionate it made her toes curl and stomach knot. Bonnie sighed and her fingers threated through his hair as their tongues dances.

“We need to talk,” he said when they broke apart for air but Bonnie quickly pulled his lips back to her.

“Later,” her voice came out muffled against his mouth.

Kol chuckled. “We really need to talk,” he said but kept kissing her.

“Okay,” Bonnie groaned and reluctantly pulled back and Kol put her back on the ground.

They both sat on the edge of the bed and Bonnie waited for Kol to start talking but she wasn’t expecting what he told her.

“I’m leaving town.”

Bonnie sat statue still for a few moments before she responded. “What do you mean you’re leaving town?”

“I mean just that,” he said. “There are some problems in New Orleans and Klaus needs my help.”

Bonnie eyed him. “Are you telling me this because you want me to come with you?”

Kol rubbed his hand over the back of his neck. “I’m telling you this because I know how much I hurt you last time I left without a word,” he said. “And I really wish I could take you with me but I can’t. It’s far too dangerous there.”

“I can protect myself, Kol.”

“I know you can, Bon,” he started.

“Then why can’t I come with you?” she asked before he could finish.

“Because It’s not that simple, Bonnie,” he and got up to put some space between them. “I gave your grandmother my word that I would get you out of this town and make sure you had a life to live but I can’t do that in New Orleans.”

His voice had gotten louder and she could tell he was getting frustrated but she also knew it wasn’t directed at her.

“Then don’t go. We can go somewhere else. Together.”

He shook his head. “No, I need to be in New Orleans.”

“Why, because of Klaus?” Bonnie questioned. “Because once again he’s managed to turn himself into another city’s most hated person? That’s his problem, not yours.”

“It’s not just about Klaus, Bonnie,” he said to her and sat on the bed again, putting is head in his hands.

“Is this because of what happened?” she asked with a small voice.

“In a way,” he answered and made her look at him. “But not in the way you’re thinking. It’s not because of what you did.”

“Then why?” she questioned him. “Everything worked out, Silas is finally gone and I’m alive.”

She wanted to add that she succeeded in bringing Jeremy back but decided against it.

Kol stood up. “When I saw your body last night, it almost killed me, Bonnie,” he said, his hands cupping her face. “I have never felt that much pain before, not when my mother died, not when Regina did and I can’t go through at again. I’m not going to have that opportunity to bring you back like I did today.”

Her hands curled around his wrists. “You’re not going to lose me again. You didn’t lose me before, I’m still here. And whatever is going on in New Orleans, I can help.”

“New Orleans isn’t Mystic Falls, Bonnie,” Kol told her. “The fact that you were the only witch in this town is the reason you are still alive today and the Salvatore’s probably would have killed you long ago if you weren’t important to Elena.”

He knew that sounded harsh but it was the truth. His own brother admitted it. The only reason he tried to kill Bonnie that time was because she had the power to kill him and had every intention of using it but when she failed and that power faded, he saw more use in her alive than dead. Had she just been one of many witches in town, he knew Klaus would have killed her long ago. And he was well aware of how willing the Salvatore’s were to sacrifice anyone for Elena, even her own friends and family.

 “I can protect myself,” she tried to reassure him but he shook it off. “And I know you wouldn’t let anything happen to me.”

“They execute witches who use their magic, Bonnie,” he told her. “Vampires are fully in control of the city. The witches can’t do a thing without them knowing and I don’t want to put you in that situation and not only that but you being there during all this, Klaus will no doubt try to use you to advance himself.”

“I wouldn’t be there to help your brother. I’d be there to be with you,” she said to him. “None of this means we should break up. Jesus Christ, Kol, you just killed Silas – someone people claimed was un-killable just to bring me back to life and now you want to leave? I get that you want to protect me but -”

 “My family is a mess, Bonnie!” he shouted, finally snapping and Bonnie was glad she was finally getting a real reaction from him. “Rebekah, Klaus and I can barely be in a room without wanting to kill each other and the only reason we don’t is Elijah who is constantly cleaning up our messes and if you think it’s bad here, it’ll be worse in New Orleans.”

“I’m not dating your family, Kol, I’m dating you.”

“Being involved with me means being involved with them and that is not going to end well for you. Not with the amount of bad blood is waiting there for us,” his voice returned to normal but the anger and the pain still lingered on his face and in his eyes. “I don’t want you to get caught in the cross-fire. I wouldn’t be able to live with it.”

Her hands went to either side of his face. “That’s not your call to make.” It was hers. If she was willing to take the risk then that should have been that.

His hands came up to cover hers. “I’m sorry, Bonnie, but it is.” His hands removed hers from his face.

“That’s not fair,” she argued, anger rising. “You do not get to decide what is best for me.” He didn’t say anything and Bonnie sighed, a bitter smile on her face. “Well, this wasn’t exactly what I was expecting when I came here.”

She hadn’t known what to expect but this was the last thing she saw coming.

“I’m sorry,” he said and she let out a short laugh.

“So this is it, then huh?” she asked and pushed some hair away from her face. “We’re done?” she almost couldn’t get out the words and they sounded so wrong.

Again, he said nothing and for Bonnie that only made it worse.

“When are you leaving?” she asked already knowing the answer. He’d be leaving as soon as possible.

“Now, Elijah’s waiting,” he answered and even though she knew that’d be it, hearing him say it stung.

Bonnie grabbed his arm before he could turn away from her. “Elijah can wait a little longer,” she said before standing on her toes and pressing her lips to his. “You can’t leave without saying goodbye.”

“This is a bad idea, Bonnie,” he said but still kissed her back, his hands tangling in her hair. It was she knew he was right but she wasn’t going to let this argument be the last memory she had of him.

She parted his lips by biting down on his bottom one and she slid his jacket from his shoulders, letting it fall to the floor. She moaned when their tongues met and grabbed the back of his neck to keep him close. They unzipped her dress and Kol grabbed the hem and lifted it, exposing her inch by inch before removing it completely.

Kol attached his lips to her neck, throat and chest. Her head lolled back and a lazy moan escaped her when he bit gently at her pulse point. His hands wandered over her body, gliding up her torso, his warm hands leaving chills in their wake.

She grabbed the hem of his shirt and lifted it over his head and immediately started to place kisses all over his chest, hands exploring his body. It was his turn to moan when she flicked her tongue over his nipple then gently bit down on it.

She could feel his hard against her stomach and her hands undid his belt then the zipper followed by the singular button and pushed his jeans down until they fell around his feet on their own and like always he had nothing on underneath.

He stepped out of them and lifted her up, her legs wrapping around his waist and she moaned loudly as he brushed against her core. He lowered her to the bed, one arm around her back, the hand undoing the clasp on her bra while the other rest on her lower back.

Bonnie threw her head back against the pillow when his mouth closed around her nipple after he removed her bra. One of his hands trailed down her side and his fingers hooked inside the edge of her underwear and started to pull them down, Bonnie helping by lifting her hips.

She almost protested when he pulled back but it was soon lost when he removed her underwear completely and settled between her legs. She sighed when he placed kisses around her abdomen and on her hip bones, his hands on her thighs.

“Kol,” his name was a whisper on her lips.

His kisses moved to her inner thigh and his hands moving to her hips to keep her from moving too much. She bit down on her bottom lip to keep herself from crying out when he placed a kiss to her centre, followed by another.

“Don’t,” he said, knowing what she was doing. He dragged his tongue along her. “Let me hear you.”

She brought her hand down to lace her fingers through his hair and she didn’t hold back her cry when he closed his mouth around her clit and sucked gently. She could feel the pleasure building up inside of her and she wanted desperately to let go but he was holding off, making it last.

His name escaped her lips in a soft plea, needing more and she groaned in relief when she felt his finger circle her entrance before dipping inside of her. He kissed his way up her stomach, between her breasts, over her chest and up her throat before catching her lips, his fingers picking up where his mouth left off.

Her arm wrapped around his shoulders, holding his close and tight to her, not wanting to let him go. His fingers worked a steady but deep rhythm inside of her, a sweet form of torture. She repaid the favour by wrapping her hand around his hard length, slowly stroking from base to tip causing him to let out a deep moan, almost a growl.

Her strokes matched his fingers inside of her and she could feel him tense above her and twitch in her hand. He removed her hand from him and added another finger and stroked faster and deeper, bringing her to the edge and pushing her over when his thumb rubbed her clit. She didn’t even have time to come down from her euphoric high before he was pushing himself inside of her, tortuously slow, inch by inch. He wanted to make this last, be something neither of them would forget but Bonnie’s emotions got the better of her when she pushed him over and rolled on top, knees either side of his hips and her hands flat on his chest.

Kol looked up at her surprised but his signature smirk soon took form on his face. His hands slid up her thighs and gripped her hips tightly when she started to move against him.

Bonnie threw her head back and moaned when she found a rhythm, Kol meeting her thrusts, fingers digging painfully into her hips.

Soon enough Kol sat up and trapped Bonnie in his arms, his lips seeking hers. They moved together and Bonnie cried out against his mouth when one of his hands slipped between them and started to rub her clit. Her legs crossed behind his back.

His mouth went to her neck, biting and licking. He bit down hard on the space between her shoulder and neck, a silent question that Bonnie answered simply by tilting her neck to expose more to him.

She was done the moment his fangs pierced her skin and he started to suck to the rhythm of their thrusts, she just held him tight, riding out her orgasm.

He finished a few thrusts later, coming with a growl and pulled back from her neck.

Neither move. They stayed put, his arms still around her, her legs wrapped around his back and him still inside her. Silence fell over them, neither wanting to say anything to ruin the moment.

Eventually they untangled themselves and Bonnie was surprised but relieved when Kol pulled back the covers, even better when he climbed in after her, arms tightly wrapped around her but she wasn’t stupid enough to fool herself into thinking this was him choosing to stay, it was her enjoying their last moment together.

XXX

Kol waited an hour before he got up out of bed and Bonnie turned to lie on her side, facing the balcony door and away from him; she listened to the rustling of clothes as he got redressed. She felt a tear seep out the corner of her eye and it was immediately soaked up by the pillow underneath.

She wanted him to leave before she fell apart, what she didn’t want was for him to walk around to her side of the bed and kneel down next to her so his face level with hers. She closed her eyes, not wanting to look at him. She didn’t want to see the guilt and the regret she knew she’d see.

His fingertips brushed down the side of her face then across her cheekbones to wipe away the rogue tears that had managed to escape.

Bonnie held her breath when she felt him lean forward and press his lips to her forehead then to her cheek and then finally, his lips touched hers. It took everything she had to remain to still, to not either break down or grab him and never let go.

“I’m always going to love you,” he whispered against her lips. “Nothing will ever change that.”

_Then don’t go,_ she wanted to say to him but she remained silent and kept her eyes closed. She couldn’t look at him. She felt him pull away and she kept her eyes closed and her tears hidden until she heard his bedroom door open and then shut ten long seconds later.

Then the band holding her emotions intact snapped and she lost it, sobbing into the pillow and gripping the sheets to her tightly and she didn’t stop until the sun rose.

XXX

As soon as the tears dried up she was putting on some clothes and packing away whatever was hers in the bag she kept here. She didn’t want to stay here any longer; everything around her was just a memory of someone who wasn’t coming back.

She was almost done packing her things when there was a knock on the door. Bonnie looked over her shoulder, smiling gently at her cousin standing in the doorway.

“Are you okay?” she asked and walked into the room. “Elijah told me what Kol was going to do.”

Bonnie shook her head and her chest tightened and she felt the tears begin to form again. “I’m not okay,” she admitted through a tearful smile. “I miss him, Lucy.”

“I know, honey,” her cousin frowned and moved to wrap Bonnie up in her arms. “You’re going to and it might be for a long while but you’re going to be okay.”

Bonnie sobbed into her cousin’s shoulder, her heart was hurting in a way it never had before.

Lucy ran her hand through Bonnie’s hair trying to soothe her. “We’re going to get away for a bit, you need to get out of this town even if it’s just temporary, you need to get away,” Lucy said and a smile started to play at her lips. “And I know just the place and it is full of people who have been dying to meet you.”

They pulled apart and Bonnie wiped at her eyes, confusion mixing with her sadness. “Who?”

“Other Bennett witches,” Lucy smiled. “Our family.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *throws up arms in defence* please don’t hate me for ending it like this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It wasn’t easy but for my sequel to go for the way I want it to I needed for this to happen. Bonnie needs to change and this will also create so much Kennett heat.  
> (also, I know Silas wasn’t really cursed but since there will be none of that doppelganger crap, I just went with it)  
> But on another note IT’S FINISHED! AFTER NEARLY TWO AND A HALF YEARS, IT’S FINALLY DONE!!!! I AM SO HAPPY RIGHT NOW!  
> Seriously, thank you! To everyone, to those who either reviewed, followed, favourite or just read it, thank you so, so much! You have no idea how much it meant for me and I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this as much as I have enjoyed writing it.  
> I’m sorry that it would take me so long to update and thank you if you stuck with me and if you gave up I don’t blame you lol  
> You guys are awesome and I love you!  
> Any mistakes, I’m sorry for and keep an eye out for the sequel which I have already started working on and it’ll be called Once Bitten, Twice Shy.  
> Again, thank you guys so much.  
> I LOVE YOU ALL!  
> XXX


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